A Bi£ Business Problem 






IALB B. GOULD, M . A. 



A ,■ : ; 



GARLETON W. HUBBARD , B . S . 




Class . 



Book. 



,Gfc 



Copyright^ .. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE COST OF POWER 



The Cost of Power 

A Big Business Problem 

A MANUAL OF VALUABLE INFORMATION 
FOR BUSINESS EXECUTIVES 



GERALD B. GOULD, M.A. 

AND 

CARLETON W. HUBBARD, B.S. 



PRICE, TWO DOLLARS 



1914 
FUEL ENGINEERING" COMPANY OF NEW YORK 

106 East 19th Street, New York 



TP325 



Copyright 1914 
FUEL ENGINEERING COMPANY OF NEW YORK 



Prepared and Produced 

Under Direction of 

THE SEARCH-LIGHT LIBRARY 

New York 



/V/^' 70 



OCT -8 1914 



'CI.A37.9934 






PREFACE 

THIS MANUAL was originally written for pri- 
vate distribution among about 200 manufac- 
turers. It is the result of the co-operative effort 
of these manufacturers to eliminate guess-work methods 
in the selection and purchase of coal and the develop- 
ment of power. 

The combined experience of these coal users in the 
purchase and use of nearly $50,000,000 worth of coal 
has reduced this complex problem to basic principles. 
No plans or theories are advanced which have not had 
the test of actual use, and each fact given in the follow- 
ing pages has been verified by a large number of 
observations. 

This problem of the Cost of Power necessitates the 
application of several branches of exact science for its 
solution, but it is, after all, the problem of the business 
man — of the man who pays for the power. Although 
he may delegate the details of his power problem to 
others, the business executive of to-day must have a 
clear conception of this problem, that he may point the 
way to improvement and set a standard of achievement 
for his organization. 

In the form here presented, the book has been 
planned to fill the need of business men who have not 
had an opportunity to study the broader aspects of the 
problem; and its service is to supplement the reader's 
knowledge with an analysis of the experience of many 
users of coal and makers of power. 

THE AUTHORS 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PART I 

Page 

Do You Know What Your Power Costs? 13 

Do You Know What It Costs to Make Steam? 14 

What the Business Man Needs to Know About Coal . . .14 

How Do You Select Your Coal? 15 

Do You Know the Value of the Coal You Buy? 15 

Have You a Basis for Establishing a Standard in Buying Coal? 16 
Why a Central Bureau Has Been Organized to Solve These 

Problems 17 

Why Every Industry Has Its Coal Problem 18 

Are You Getting Full Value Out of the Coal You Have 

Bought? 18 

Are You Burning Up Your Profits? 21 



PART II 

How a Coal Test Differs from a Chemical Analysis .... 22 

What Terms are Used in Coal Testing? 22 

What is Ash and Moisture? 23 

What is Volatile? 23 

What is Fixed Carbon? 24 

What is Sulphur? 24 

Why "B.T.U." is the Measure of Heat Value 24 

What is the Difference Between Kind and Quality of Coal? 25 

Why the "Ton" is Not a Measure of Fuel Value 26 

How Much Does Coal Vary in Quality? 26 

How to Interpret this Tabulation 27 

How Impartial Data is Valuable as a Guide in Buying Coal . 28 

How Many Grades are There of Each Kind of Coal? ... 28 

How to fix the Responsibility for the Quality of Coal ... 39 
How You are Affected by the Preparation of Coal for the 

Market 31 

Why Uniformity is a Factor in Selecting Coal 32 

What the Government Advises - 34 

Why Good Reputation Does Not Guarantee Coal Quality . . 34 



TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED) 

Page 

How You May Pay for Water at the Price of Coal .... 35 

How Much Moisture Does Coal Contain? 36 

How Moisture in Coal Varies with the Seasons 39 

How the "B.T.U." is a Positive Measure of Value .... 41 

Why the Calorimeter is a Necessity 42 

Why It Is Not Safe to Depend On Ash Tests Alone ... 42 
Why It Is Difficult to Obtain Accurate Heat Value Deter- 
minations 43 

How Heat Determinations Have Been Made More Reliable 44 



PART III 

How Volatile Matter Indicates the Kind of Coal .... 46 

How Coal Is Scientifically Classified 46 

How Heat Values of Different Classes of Coals Compare . . 47 

What Is Shown by Typical Tests of Three Important Classes 48 
Why the Amount of Volatile Is Important in Selecting the 

Kind of Coal to Burn 49 

How the Classes of Coal are Further Subdivided After Mining 50 

Why the Size of Anthracite Is Important 52 

Why Sulphur Is an Undesirable Element in Coal .... 53 

Why Low Sulphur Coals are Usually to be Preferred ... 54 

How to Avoid Clinker Troubles 57 

How Systematic Tests Simplify Coal Troubles 57 

How Often Should Coal Be Tested 58 

How to Take a Representative Coal Sample 60 

How Good Sampling Has Been Demonstrated 61 

How a Plant Manager Proved the Accuracy of Sampling . . 62 
How the Testing Plant is a Model of Accuracy, Speed and 

Efficiency 63 

How Each Test is Subjected to Closest Scrutiny .... 64 
Why You Pay More and Get Less by Making Your Own Coal 

Tests 65 

How the Fuel Engineering Company Protects Its Clients . . 66 
How Test Reports are Mailed Regularly the Day Following 

the Receipt of Sample — or, if Necessary, the Same Day 66 



TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) 

PART IV 

Page 

How Coal Tests Can Be Easily Read in Terms of Money . . 68 

How the Value of Coal Is Computed 69 

How Coal Tests are Translated into Money 70 

Why Many Coal Losses are Not Discovered 71 

Why Wide Differences in Money Value are not Limited to 

Any One Kind of Coal 72 

How the Cost of Transportation from Different Fields is an 
Important Factor in Selecting the Most Economical Coal 

to Use 75 

How the Location of the Plant is an important Factor in Se- 
lecting the Most Economical Coal to Use 77 

Why Accurate Coal Quality Reports are Necessary for the 

Operating Department 78 

Why Greater Efficiency Does Not Always Mean Lower Cost 79 

Why "Evaporation" Alone Does Not Indicate Efficiency . . 80 



PART V 

How the Coal Test Plays an Important Part in a Vital Busi- 
ness Problem 89 

What is This Central Bureau of Accurate Coal Facts for the 
Buyer of Coal? 83 

How the Fuel Engineering Company Records are Collected . 84 

How to Secure Information from this Confidential Library of 
Records 85 

How the Record of a Particular Coal or Coal Dealer Can be 
Found in Less Than a Minute 85 

How the Records are Used by Coal Consumers to Save Money 86 

How These Records Help the Coal Buyer to Reach the Cor- 
rect Decision 87 

How it is Easy to Settle Each Coal Question as it Arises, 
Conclusively and Promptly — if You Have the Facts . . 88 

How You Can Find Unexpected Sources of Coal Supply . . 89 

How this Bureau of Coal Information Meets Your Emergen- 
cies 90 

How One Manufacturer Saved the Cost of a Year's Service by 
Asking One Question 93 



TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONCLUDED) 

Page 

How Current Additions to the Records are Placed on Your 

Desk Each Month Through a Loose-Leaf System of 

Printed Monthly Reports 94 

Why Now is the Time to Make the Big Savings by Scientific 

Methods in Coal Buying 95 

Why Specifications are the Clincher of the Coal Purchase 

Problem 96 

How Specifications Secure Lower Prices for the Buyer . . 97 
Why Specifications Do Not Depend Upon Penalties or Price 

Reductions for Their Value 98 

What the United States Government Bureau of Mines Advises 

in Bulletin 41 98 

Why Imperfect Specifications May Be More Costly Than None 99 
How Coal Specifications Have Been Proven a Success . . . 100 
How an Association Can Save Money for Its Members by the 

Collective Buying of Coal 102 

What One Prominent Manufacturers' Association Says About 

Collective Buying 103 

How States and Cities Can Safeguard Coal Purchases . . . 104 



PART VI 

How Coal Is Turned Into Power 105 

How Power Losses Can Be Prevented 105 

How the Savings Disclosed by the Power Plant Balance Sheet 

Mount Into Money 106 

How the Energy Account Looks in Actual Figures .... 108 
How This Same Energy Account Was Made to Save Money 108 

How Every Power Problem Is Different Ill 

Why the Energy Account Should Show the Losses for 365 

Days of the Year 112 

How to Open the Energy Account 113 

How the Services of the Operating Engineer Become More 

Valuable 114 

How the Coal Service Assists the Plant Manager . . . .115 
How the Power Service Protects and Assists You at Every 

Step from Mine to Delivered Power 115 

Why the Cost of Power Is a Big Business Problem . . . .116 

Why You Need the Coal Service 117 

Why You Need the Power Service 119 

The Problem and Its Solution 120 



ILLUSTRATIONS AND CHARTS 

Page 
Photograph of Grinding Room in Coal Testing Plant 19 

Chart Showing Cross Section of Three Coal Seams 31 

Chart Showing Ash Percentages in Semi-Bituminous Coal ... 32 

Chart Showing Ash Percentages in No. 1 Buckwheat Coal ... 33 

Photograph of Balance Room in Coal Testing Plant 37 

Chart Showing Moisture Variations in Coal 40 

Chart Showing Steam Sizes of Anthracite Coal 52 

Photograph of High Temperature Furnace in Coal Testing 

Plant 55 

Photograph of Sulphur Room in Coal Testing Plant 55 

Photograph of Calorimeter Room in Coal Testing Plant 73 

Chart Showing Relative Values of Anthracite and Semi- 
Bituminous Coal 76 

Photograph of Coal Records in Vault 91 

Chart Showing Elimination of Losses through Energy Account 107 

Photograph of Corner in Library of Coal Records 109 

Photograph of General Offices of Fuel Engineering Company 
of New York 127 



IT has been said that we are an industrial 
nation. I feel that we are only just beginning 
to be an industrial nation, and shall not be fully 
entitled to that name until we have a more com- 
plete knowledge of the principles on which suc- 
cessful industry is based. Too many of our 
enterprises are still founded on what has been 
done rather than on what can be done. The real 
industrial leader must be guided by future pos- 
sibilities rather than past performances. The 
growing disposition among the people of all lands 
to abolish special privileges of every kind, is 
going to make it necessary for those who carry 
on industrial operations to depend more and more 
upon their own efficiency, and to get away as 
rapidly as possible from the errors of past practice. 
We can no longer blindly follow the trail of those 
who have gone before simply because they were 
successful. What spelled success yesterday, may 
spell failure tomorrow. Knowledge, not precedent 
or opinion, must be our guide. The man whose 
special training fits him to acquire the necessary 
knowledge is the engineer; he works with facts 
which he obtains by investigation; others are 
usually guided by opinion, which is too often 
inherited or copied." 

HENRY LAURENCE GANTT, ME. 



BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 



PART I 



Do You Know What Your Power Costs? 

To tell you that a plant manager in one of the 
largest factories in the United States did not know the 
amount of finished product his factory produced, or the 
quality of the raw material used, or anything about the 
economy of its use, undoubtedly would astonish you. 
You would properly answer : "It cannot be true — such 
a factory could not exist — it would spell 'failure.' " 
To tell you that you> perhaps, are one of ten thousand 
who are cloing this very thing would meet with prompt 
and emphatic denial. But stop and think a minute : 

You are engaged in making a product to sell. It 
may be anything from rubber bands to locomotives; 
but whatever it is, you have spent, without doubt, a 
large sum of money to improve your methods of manu- 
facture — to reduce the cost of your product. The raw 
material you buy is carefully inspected and tested and 
probably bought under strict specifications. Your men 
have been trained to eliminate every useless motion, 
however small. 

But let us ask you two questions : Do you really 
know wliat your power costs? Do you know how much 
of that expense is loss? 

13 



THE COST OF POWER 

Do You Know What It Costs to Make Steam? 

The foundation of your whole factory system — the 
first item of expense — is down in the basement, or off 
in a corner of the yard, forgotten as long as it keeps 
running — your steam factory — we will call it to dis- 
tinguish it from the factory that makes your sales- 
product. You consider it a necessary evil, a constant 
source of rising expense. It can and should be made a 
dividend payer. 

If steam were your finished product — the only 
thing that you made — and you were selling it to a ma- 
chine shop next door, in competition with another steam 
factory, would you operate your steam factory the 
wa y y° u do now? Your answer, of course, is that you 
would not; but that you are now making car wheels, 
and your hands are too full to give up the necessary 
time to go into steam making with the care that a cen- 
tral station man does, who is selling power alone. 

What the Business Man Needs to Know About Coal. 

Let us investigate the conditions in your steam -fac- 
tory. Where shall we start to put it on the same kind 
of a business basis as the sales-product factory? The 
answer is, with the largest single element in the cost of 
power — coal. We must not waste time, however, in 
lengthy scientific discussion. The business man must 
enlist the aid of men trained in the scientific side of the 
coal problem. With confidence in our scientific founda- 
tion, we must jump right into the real practical busi- 
ness questions that must be answered. What is 
the most economical kind of coal for me to buy as a 
raw material in the production of power? What coal 

14 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

of this kind, judging from records of actual past per- 
formance, will give me the most power for the money? 
Where can I get it? How can I best protect my in- 
terests in contracting for this material? Is my plant 
turning into power the largest possible amount of this 
energy that I buy for it? If not, how much is lost 9 and 
where is the lost energy escaping? 

How Do You Select Your Coal? 

Most plants to-day simply buy so many tons of 
coal from some dealer who happened to be on the job 
when coal was needed, or perhaps because his coal 
seemed to work more satisfactorily than two or three 
others that were tried. These plant managers are doing 
the best they can, without doubt, but often the most 
economical coal to use in a given plant is rejected 
because the firing methods are not suited to the coal. 
Furthermore, any plant dependent solely upon its own 
organization must be limited to its experience with the 
few coals it has had an opportunity to try. Before 
proceeding further it will be well for you to call in your 
bookkeeper and ask him exactly what you are paying 
each year for coal — the gross sum of this first cost of 
raw material. 

Do You Know the Value of the Coal You Buy? 

This is an important question ; it means dollars and 
cents — possibly thousands of dollars. Coal varies in 
character through a thousand gradations, from the an- 
thracite of Pennsylvania to the lignite of Texas, and 
the value of coal varies tremendously according to the 
character of the coal seam and the care observed in 

15 



THE COST OF POWER 

preparing it for market. How many plant managers, 
or engineers, know accurately the value of each lot of 
coal they buy? Few can avoid costly experiments for 
they have no data in advance on the quality and char- 
acter of coal offered to them. The result is a tremen- 
dous loss — the burning up of profits. Variations in 
quality equal to ten or fifteen cents a ton can occur 
without being noticed by your firemen or without being 
reported to you. Perhaps only a half or a quarter of 
the deliveries are of slightly inferior quality, but it 
would pay you well to know it promptly. It is watch- 
fulness at every point that pulls down the cost of 
power. The plant manager of the past cannot be 
blamed for guesswork methods in this department of his 
business. Up to within the past few years the necessary 
information could not be obtained from any one central 
organization, or without very expensive investigation. 

Have You a Basis for Establishing a Standard in 
Buying Coal? 

Coal testing is only the first step. When you have 
your coal tested it is valueless unless you have one more 
important thing, i.e., a basis for comparison. Tests 
of your coal compared one with another are not suf- 
ficient; it is only comparing your own experience of 
to-day with that of yesterday. The real value of a 
test is in comparing it with thousands of other tests in 
hundreds of other factories. You should have the 
whole coal market before you in exact terms of coal 
quality. Then only will you be in a position to know 
whether you are getting the most for your money. The 
selection and purchase of coaly if done thoroughly, is 

16 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

so bewildering in its complexity and in its countless pos- 
sibilities that a plant manager, in the midst of his other 
duties, cannot expect to make an exhaustive investiga- 
tion of the coal market any more than he would study 
law rather than submit his legal questions to his attor- 
ney. 

Why a Central Bureau Has Been Organized to Solve 
These Problems. 

It is this great need of manufacturers and other 
large coal users that has shown the necessity for an 
extensive plan of co-operation for the scientific selection 
and purchase of coal and the economical production of 
power from it. This has resulted in the establishment 
of a central bureau managed by specialists whose busi- 
ness it is to gather exact coal and power data from 
hundreds of coal users and to organize this information 
so that it can all be focused quickly upon the problems 
of each plant. This organization is known as the Fuel 
Engineering Company of New York and confines its op- 
erations to this one part of manufacturing costs, based 
upon practical experience, scientific knowledge, and the 
accumulation of vitally important data which cannot 
be secured in any other way. 

The Fuel Engineering Company operates a large 
specialized coal testing plant; but, what is even more 
important, this company has for years been collecting 
and indexing coal information. This library of records 
now includes more than 25,000 tests of coal made for 
several hundred coal consumers, and is being added to 
at the rate of about 6,000 a year. Coal dealers and 
miners are indexed to show at a glance the character of 
coal they supply, their reliability, and their attitude 

17 



THE COST OF POWER 

toward their customers. The coals are indexed to show 
the quality of each kind, its variations, its adaptability 
to certain plant conditions, etc. 

Why Every Industry Has Its Coal Problem. 

Many manufacturers use coal in gas-producing 
plants, and some lines of industry use the heat from coal 
in manufacturing processes other than the production 
of power. Each one of these has its own problem in 
the selection and purchase of coal, and specialized 
knowledge of coal is here even more important than in 
the case of the steam plant. The pottery manufacturer 
must avoid certain fumes. The terra cotta manufac- 
turer requires a steady supply of heat, well under con- 
trol. The brass foundry must get a certain amount of 
heat from a given volume of coal. The cement mill, the 
iron foundry, the smelter — there are many special coal 
uses and each one demands an intimate knowledge of 
coal and the coal market. 

Are You Getting Full Value Out of the Coal You Have 
Bought? 

Surprisingly few plants to-day are equipped to 
measure the amount of water evaporated, or the exact 
amount of coal used. Unless the amount of the product 
of the boiler room is known, as well as the quality and 
amount of raw material, no accurate comparison can be 
made between the coal or power costs of two periods. 
Few manufacturers can say definitely that their higher 
coal bill this year is due to poorer coal, or to the use of 
a coal not as well suited to the plant, or to wasteful 
firing methods, or to more steam used (or wasted). 

18 




Preparation Room in the Testing Plant of the Fuel Engineering Company, where the coal 
samples are pulverized and automatically reduced in size for the testing. 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

Are You Burning Up Your Profits? 

This question can be answered only through a thor- 
ough knowledge of the coal market, the exact value of 
the coal you buy, and a continuous record of operating 
results. The interest of the Fuel Engineering Com- 
pany is identical with the business man's interest 
— to keep down the rising cost of power. It does 
not buy or sell coal, or any form of plant equip- 
ment. Its aim is to get the most out of a plant 
as it stands. The Mechanical Engineering Depart- 
ment specializes on the use of coal, and the elimi- 
nation of waste in the production of power. For those 
of its clients who desire it, this department will super- 
vise the manufacture of their power, and thus give to 
them a complete and accurate check upon every item of 
power cost, from the selection of the coal to the deliv- 
ered power. At this point the Fuel Engineering Com- 
pany Service stops, leaving the problems of manufac- 
turing your sales-product to those best fitted to handle 
them. The following pages therefore will treat of this 
technical subject with as little scientific discussion as 
possible. Facts will be found stated in the business 
man's measure of results — dollars and cents. 



21 



THE COST OF POWER 



PART II 



How a Coal Test Differs from a Chemical Analysis. 

The coal test of commercial use is not what is 
commonly, but incorrectly, called — a "chemical analy- 
sis." The coal is burned completely to determine the 
amount of ash remaining, it is dried in an oven to drive 
off the moisture, it is subjected to a certain amount of 
heat for a certain length of time to drive off the vola- 
tile, and is burned in an atmosphere of oxygen in a 
calorimeter to measure the amount of heat developed. Is 
there anything chemical about these processes? And 
calorimetry is peculiarly within the field of physics, not 
chemistry. The sulphur determination alone can be 
called a chemical test. The real chemical analysis of 
coal is the ultimate analysis which breaks the coal down 
into its chemical elements; but the results of this ulti- 
mate analysis are of no direct commercial importance ; 
and if they were, the cost of such tests and the length 
of time necessary to make them would rob them of all 
practical usefulness to the business man or plant engi- 
neer. 

What Terms are Used in Coal Testing. 

This coal test — the coal test that the business man 
needs — tells the amount of ash, or wnburndble material 
in the coal, the amount of moisture, of sulphur, of vola- 
tile matter, and the British Thermal Units. While these 

22 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

terms are no doubt familiar, a few words about each 
will be in order before we look into the real dollars and 
cents meaning of each to the business man. 

What Is Ash and Moisture? 

Ash is the solid incombustible material remaining 
after the coal is completely burned. It should not be 
confounded with the refuse, which is removed from the 
ash-pit of a furnace. All coal contains a certain amount 
of solid substance called "ash" which is inseparably asso- 
ciated with its other constituents ; but in all coal mined 
for commercial purposes to-day the amount of this is 
comparatively small. The major part of the ash in 
coal as delivered is composed of rock which is found 
above or below a coal seam, or in the form of partings 
within the seam. It cannot be measured exactly by the 
refuse from a furnace, for this always contains a certain 
amount of combustible matter which is a source of loss 
in the operation of a power plant, varying in impor- 
tance with the care in firing methods, and the relation 
of the equipment to the coal. The laboratory test is 
the only accurate means of measuring the ash element, 
for there the coal is burned under ideal conditions, and 
all of the combustible matter is consumed. Moisture 
needs little comment. It not only produces no heat, 
but requires a part of the heat liberated by the 
coal to drive it off. 

What Is Volatile? 

Volatile matter is that part of the coal which is 
driven off in the form of gas, when the coal is subjected 
to heat. Part of it produces heat ; pound for pound it 
produces more heat than any other part of the coal. 

23 



THE COST OF POWER 

Differences in the composition of this volatile matter 
cause wide differences in the amount of heat that dif- 
ferent kinds of coals will produce, assuming that each 
has the same amount of ash and moisture. 

What Is Fixed Carbon? 

Fixed carbon is simply what is left after the ash, 
moisture and volatile are accounted for. It is not deter- 
mined by experiment, but is the difference between 100 
per cent, and the sum of the percentages of the three 
determinations mentioned. 

What Is Sulphur? 

Sulphur is determined separately, and not reported 
in the test as a part of the 100 per cent., which is made 
up of the ash, moisture, volatile, and fixed carbon, be- 
cause a part of it goes off as volatile matter, and a part 
remains in combination with other elements of the ash. 
A description of sulphur alone is a purely technical one. 
A discussion of its significance to the business man will 
be found on another page. 

Why "B.T.U." Is the Measure of Heat Value. 

The British Thermal Unit (commonly called the 
B.T.U.) is the measure of heat value used in this 
country, and represents the amoimt of heat required to 
raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. This 
is not a full scientific definition of the B.T.U., but it is 
sufficiently accurate for the purpose of giving an idea 
of its value. 33479 B.T.U. is equal to one boiler horse- 
power. The heat value of coal is expressed as the 
"B.T.U. Dry," or "B.T.U. as Received." The B.T.U. 
Dry is the measure of the heating value of a pound of 

24 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

coal which has been completely dried out. The B.T.U. 

as Received (sometimes called the B.T.U. Commercial) 

is the measure of heat value of the coal with whatever 

per cent, of moisture the particular sample is found 

to contain. If either one is known, together with the 

amount of moisture, the other can be calculated. 

Example: — Given, B.T.U. as received 12,000, and moisture 5 per 

* dttt^ B.T.U. as received x 100 1,200,000 10 _ Q0 

cent. B.T.U. dry= — — j r- — = — =12,632. 

100 — per cent, of moisture 95 

What Is the Difference Between Kind and Quality 
of Coal? 

There are certain characteristics of coal which 
have been fixed by Nature beyond the power of man to 
alter. Some of the most important factors in determi- 
ning the value of coal as a power producer, however, 
can be and are controlled by the methods of mining and 
preparation of the coal for market. The coal buyer 
therefore should become accustomed to the consideration 
of these two classes of characteristics in their proper 
light. The amount and composition of the volatile mat- 
ter cannot be changed by the methods of mining, and 
the amount of heat a given coal will produce is fixed, 
assuming it to be free from ash, moisture and sulphur. 
But the miner can, by his methods, very materially af- 
fect the amount of ash which a cargo of coal contains, 
and thereby directly reduce or increase that part of each 
ton which is of value. Part of the sulphur, like a part 
of the ash, is an inherent part of the coal substance, but 
in many coals it is largely in combination with iron as 
a part of the ash, and therefore also controlled to a 
considerable degree by methods of mining and prepara- 
tion for market. The B.T.U. is affected in part by 

25 



THE COST OF POWER 

the character of the coal ; but it is also directly depend- 
ent upon the care in excluding as much ash as possible, 
for as this increases per pound, the heat producing ele- 
ments decrease in proportion. 

Why the "Ton" Is Not a Measure of Fuel Value. 

The coal delivered to you is nothing more than 
"power" in packages — raw material. The ton of black 
material is the package in which the goods are shipped 
to you ; the volatile is the label which indicates the char- 
acter of the goods; the ash is an indication of quality 
and the care in manufacture; and the number of B.T.U. 
gives you the quantity of power contained in the pack- 
age. You, a maker of power, should be buying heat 
(B.T.U.) in the form most economical for you to use 
(indicated by the Volatile) and delivered in a package 
called a "ton of coal." Would you buy a box of tools 
without knowing how many there were in the box, or 
whether they were suited to your needs, or whether they 
had been so carefully manufactured that they would 
give you good service? The only excuse for buying 
heat units in such a way is that you can see the package, 
but cannot see the contents or heat units. Science has 
devised means of measuring the heat units, and the 
effectiveness with which your plant uses them in making 
power. 

How Much Does Coal Vary in Quality? 

Consider for a moment the percentage of ash as the 
only index of the quality of coal. Here are some facts 
and figures. The data contained in the tabulation be- 
low was obtained from tests of about 1,000 deliveries 

26 



BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 



of No. 1 Buckwheat to coal users in New York City. 
The table gives the highest and lowest ash percentage 
found during each month. On another page these same 
figures will be found combined with the B.T.U., and 
interpreted in terms of money value. 













1912 


1913 




High 
Per Cent. 


Low 
Per Cent. 


High 
Per Cent. 


Low 

Per Cent. 


January 

Februar; 

March 

April 

May . 

June 

July . 

August 

Septemb 

October 

Novemb 

Decemb< 


f , 

er 

er 








24.92 

28.42 
24.60 
24.13 
23.93 
26.18 
29.50 
25.40 
23.95 
26.80 
23.70 
26.68 


11.30 
10.18 

8.89 
10.60 
11.83 
10.29 
11.22 
12.71 
11.36 
12.36 
9.73 
9.30 


23.43 
33.38 
22.90 
25.72 
27.40 
31.85 
28.18 
24.83 
30.02 
26.06 
26.75 
25.80 


8.62 
10.20 
12.16 
11.92 
11.70 

6.32 
11.66 
10.77 
11.40 
10.64 
12.10 
10.63 


Average 








25.68 


10.81 


27.18 


10.68 



How to Interpret This Tabulation. 

This tabulation shows the great variations in qual- 
ity constantly occurring. Considering the whole period, 
it will be seen that there is a difference of more than 27 
between the highest percentage of ash and the lowest. 
The greatest difference within one month occurred 
in June, 1913, amounting to 25.53, and the smallest 
spread from high to low in March, 1913, when it 
amounted to 10.74. The average high and low percent- 
ages for each year show a difference in 1912 of 14.87, 



27 



THE COST OF POWER 

and in 1913 of 16.50. It is, of course, extremely un- 
likely that any one purchaser would get all the poorest 
deliveries, or all the best. The figures prove, however, 
that big variations in value are occurring every day in 
the quality of coal delivered. 

How Impartial Data is Valuable as a Guide in Buy- 
ing Coal. 

It is only human nature for a dealer to see that his 
better coal goes to the buyer who has the facts, and 
knows what lie is getting. Many coal consumers who 
have tried it consider systematic tests of coal to be 
well worth their cost for this reason alone. The im- 
portance of selecting the coal and coal dealer, on the 
basis of impartial data collected from many sources, 
can be seen from an analysis of the facts in the fore- 
going table. This shows that ten dealers contributed 
to the good records (low ash). Of these ten, one was 
credited with ten of the twenty-four good records. 
Eighteen dealers are represented in the list of poor 
records, and three of them are responsible for one-third 
of the high ash figures, without contributing a single 
one to the good records. Much costly experiment can 
be avoided by having available such information as that 
from which this data was compiled. 

How Many Grades are There of Each Kind of Coal? 

Now let us look at this matter of variations in 
coal quality from a different angle. We will disregard 
the variations in quality between shipments from the 
same mine, and compare the average value of shipments 
from a number of mines with each other. For this 

28 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

comparison fifteen well-known Semi-Bituminous coals 
have been selected from the Fuel Engineering Company 
Library of coal records. The tests were made on coal 
actually delivered to consumers. In the case of each 
mine, tests on more than 100 deliveries have been aver- 
aged, thus obtaining results which are thoroughly rep- 
resentative of each coal. The sulphur and volatile, as 
well as the ash, are given in this case, for these ele- 
ments are of equal importance in selecting Semi-Bitumi- 
nous or Bituminous coals. The table below shows, first, 
that different mines producing the same general char- 
acter of coal may have a distinctly different rating for 
the quality of coal they produce, accepting the ash as 
an index of quality; second, how great the differences 
are in the percentages of sulphur in coals from different 
mines ; and third, how many combinations of these three 
important factors in coal selection — ash, sulphur, and 
volatile — are possible. 



No. of 


Per Cent. 


Per Cent. 


Per Cent. 




Index 


Tests 
Averaged 


Ash 


Sulphur 


Volatile 


District 


Number 


122 


7.48 


1.57 


21.22 


Cambria County 


1 


138 


6.28 


.84 


19.42 


West Virginia 


2 


294 


8.96 


2.20 


22.22 


Cambria County 


3 


503 


7.22 


.79 


19.55 


Cambria County 


4 


184 


9.36 


1.01 


16.35 


Somerset County 


5 


247 


8.74 


.97 


16.45 


Somerset County 


6 


102 


10.55 


1.37 


22.91 


Cambria County 


7 


168 


7.57 


1.53 


17.27 


Cambria County 


8 


134 


6.68 


1.35 


15.81 


Cambria County 


9 


116 


6.49 


1.98 


20.79 


Cambria County 


10 


139 


8.58 


1.71 


17.61 


Huntingdon County 


11 


153 


8.83 


2.29 


20.90 


Cambria County 


12 


257 


10.06 


1.57 


16.12 


Somerset County 


13 


345 


5.24 


.69 


17.20 


Cambria County 


14 


306 


8.86 


1.12 


15.85 


Somerset County 


15 



29 



THE COST OF POWER 

A little study of this table will show how valuable 
to the coal buyer are the records from which 
these figures were taken. You now may be using one 
of these fifteen coals; but do you know which one? Do 
you know that it is more economical for your use than 
some one of the others? If some one of the other coals 
were offered to you, think how valuable data like this 
would be in making an accurate comparison of value, 
and in making possible prompt decisions with certainty. 

How to Fix the Responsibility for the Quality of Coal. 

The inability or neglect of the users to protect 
themselves on this important point causes the loss of 
thousands of dollars. The dealer, and back of him the 
miner, should be responsible for the quality of the prod- 
uct he ships to market. Moreover, he would be held 
responsible if the coal buyer was not grossly ignorant 
of what he is buying and unable to prove whether his 
coal is good, bad or indifferent. The claim that be- 
cause two shipments of coal came from the same mine 
they therefore must be of equal value is a fallacy. 
The character of the coal bed constantly changes as 
the mining operations advance, sometimes to such an 
extent that the mine has to be abandoned. But even 
with mining conditions the same, there is a big human 
element in the methods of mining and in the prepara- 
tion of the coal for market. Every manufacturer knows 
that the quality of his own product is dependent upon 
the character of management of the plant, and upon 
the interest and reliability of his foremen, his inspectors, 
and his workmen. How long would you keep your 
customers, solely upon the strength of your reputation, 
if you let the quality of your product decline? Your 

30 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

customers test and inspect your goods, and are quick 
to claim rebates, or to change to your competitor, if 
the goods are not up to standard. Why should you not 
apply the same good sound business principles in buying 
coal? 

How You are Affected by the Preparation of Coal for 
the Market. 

This is an important item and you pay the bill 
without knowing why. The necessity for preparation 
of coal, before being shipped to market, varies in dif- 
ferent mines. It is your business to know about it. 
In one place there may be a thick vein of coal, with 
no parting and easy to mine without taking out too 
much of the surrounding rock. In another the vein 
may be thin, or divided by one or more thin partings 
of slate or other rock material, which must be mined 
with the coal. Cross sections of several coal veins are 
given below to illustrate this point. 




Breast cool, 

harder above. 
8 ft 2 in. B n d sof^ ^o^. 



Shale, hard 
Coal, Irregular 



3,6, 12 ill. 
81a 



Coal 

Shale 



Coal 

Shale 
Coal 




CROSS SECTION OF THREE COAL SEAMS— From the "Mary- 
land Geological Survey." 



31 



THE 



COST 



O F 



POWER 



Why Uniformity Is a Factor in Selecting Coal. 

The unreliability of this human element in mining 
and the variations in quality can be seen clearly from 
the charts below. Two charts show the ash percentage 
in fourteen consecutive deliveries of two well-known 
semi-bituminous coals, and the others of No. 1 Buck- 
wheat. The wide range of the upper semi-bituminous 
chart is a clear indication of careless preparation (or 
perhaps none) as contrasted with the lower one which 
represents one of the best coals of this character offered 
in the Eastern market. 





SEMI-BITUMINOUS CHART— These charts illustrate the vary- 
ing ash percentages in fourteen consecutive deliveries of two 
different semi-bituminous coals. The coal represented by the upper 
chart was poorly prepared and consequently shows wide variations 
in quality, as contrasted with the lower one. 



32 



BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 




ANTHRACITE CHART NO. 1 BUCK— These charts illustrate 
the varying ash percentages in fourteen consecutive deliveries of 
No. 1 Buckwheat by two dealers. They show how the quality of 
coal delivered to a given plant may be affected by the degree of 
care exercised by a dealer in selecting his coal. 



33 



THE COST OF POWER 

What the Government Advises. 

The United States Bureau of Mines, in a bulletin, 
said : "The quality of coal from a given mine may vary 
from time to time through the failure of the miners to 
reject impurities; or the physical and chemical char- 
acter of the coal in a certain bed may vary from place 
to place. In some coal fields different beds of coal 
are mined at the same time and the output is mixed. 
When there is need of preparation, as by picking slate 
or other impurities, or by jigging or washing, the qual- 
ity or value of the coal marketed depends a great deal 
on the care taken in the processes employed. The 
mining companies are responsible in a large measure 
for variations in the grade of prepared coal. The pur- 
chase of coal under a contract that distinctly specifies 
its quality, stimulates the operator to prepare coal 
better before shipping it to market. 55 



Why Good Reputation Does Not Guarantee Coal 
Quality. 

A significant story will illustrate how even the 
greatest care, and a good reputation, do not guarantee 
coal quality. A certain coal mining company had been 
for some years shipping a very high grade coal. The 
coal was quite uniform in quality, indicating careful 
mining methods. The coal was being shipped to several 
of the Fuel Engineering Company's clients when all at 
once the tests began to show up unusually bad for any 
coal of this kind. The sales manager of the mining 
company insisted that there must be something wrong 
with the sampling or testing, for he said it was simply 

34 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

impossible for his coal to run as bad as the reports 
showed it, and pointed to its good record extending over 
several years. He was finally persuaded to take a trip 
to the mines to investigate. The result was that he dis- 
covered his mine superintendent had some weeks before 
become extremely intoxicated and remained in that con- 
dition to the neglect of the mine. 

How You May Pay for Water at the Price of Coal. 

All coal contains a certain amount of moisture 
when mined. Within any given class of coal this factor 
does not vary to any serious extent. It is beyond the 
control of the miner. Minimum moisture, therefore, 
must be considered an unavoidable loss. There is a 
big variation in moisture, however, that comes from 
the additions by rain or snow, or from a hose, the 
latter method usually being of more importance to the 
purchaser than the former. Coal purchased in car-lots 
is paid for on the basis of the weights at the mines 
at the time of loading the cars. This weight, of course, 
includes the inherent moisture and is not affected by 
the moisture which is added in transit because of storms. 

But reverse the conditions, and pay for the coal on 
the basis of its weight at time of delivery. Then the 
moisture is as important as the ash, for it must be 
paid for at the price of coal, and the excess above the 
minimum moisture at the mines is a pure loss to the 
purchaser. This question usually arises where coal is 
sold in wagon lots, in which case the moisture may 
have been added through exposure in the dealer's yard, 

35 



THE COST OF POWER 

or the dealer may wet it down to make it easier to 
handle. There is no apparent reason why the coal 
dealer should be paid for this excess weight of moisture 
at the price of coal, for if it came in the shape of rain 
it entailed upon him not even the expense of water 
tax or the little labor with a hose which he would as- 
sume if he wet it down himself. His coal is purchased 
on the basis of the mine weights, and all the moisture 
he can put on the scales over and above the mine mois- 
ture means a very handsome profit in the sale of water. 
This should not be taken to mean that coal dealers 
generally wet down coal for the purpose of deliberately 
defrauding their customers, although it furnishes a 
splendid opportunity to a dealer inclined to sharp prac- 
tices, and the percentage of dishonest men, unfortunate- 
ly, is probably as great in the coal business as in any 
other. It is, without question, necessary at times to 
wet down a load of coal, especially coal in fine form, 
to avoid flying dust as the coal is carried through the 
streets or is being unloaded. Too much water may be 
added by an irresponsible employe without any instruc- 
tions or even the knowledge of the dealer; but the pur- 
chaser should be protected from this loss, and an hon- 
est dealer should be willing to accept a reasonable 
basis of adjustment. 

How Much Moisture Does Coal Contain? 

Moisture varies with the kind of coal (we are now 
speaking of total moisture at time of delivery), ac- 
cording to its capacity for retaining the water when 

36 




C *} 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

once added. In anthracite coal the smaller the indi- 
vidual lumps of coal the more moisture the coal will 
hold. Below is a table which shows the average mois- 
ture determination on several thousand samples of each 
steam size of anthracite : 

Anthracite — Pea 4.12 per cent 

No. 1 Buckwheat . 4.34 per cent. 

No. 2 Buckwheat . 5.39 per cent. 

No. 3 Buckwheat . 6.52 per cent. 

Screenings .... 7.03 per cent. 

Semi-bituminous and bituminous coals are not included 
under this rule, because they have a certain property 
of absorbing moisture as well as holding it mechanically. 
The bituminous coals of the Middle Western field, un- 
like the Eastern coals, contain a very large percentage 
of inherent moisture when mined. In comparing the 
fuel values of different classes of coals this moisture 
factor should be taken into account, but in a com- 
parison between two coals of the same class, it should 
be eliminated to avoid differences that are likely to be 
purely accidental. 

How Moisture in Coal Varies With the Seasons. 

Although not of any particular commercial appli- 
cation, the relation of moisture in delivered coal to the 
calendar is interesting. The chart on the next page 
was made up from monthly averages of moisture tests 
during a period of two years on several hundred samples 
of each kind of coal each month. The close relationship 
between the curves would seem to indicate that the 
variations are truly seasonal ones. 



8.0 
7.0 

k\6.0 

t 
i 

to 




:;v]v*:} ;}: 








J 




























S3SS 








/ 
















% 


*; 


?d 


V 


Ot 


K 


•;'-.>--7\\' : 








1 






































I 




/ 


\ 






























) 




1 


A 










?\ 












/Si 














/ 




Si 








*:' 


I 










3R ■• 










v 




/ 














\ 




















A 


> 


f 














i 




































:'•'• 


\ 






































\ 






































::\ 




\ 
























' / 


vi? 


>s 


% 


fc/ 


<£ 


K 


\* 


1 


\ 






































\ 


\ 


J 




































\ 


) 


H 






























% 


s- 




\ 


/ 




•■-v, 


/ 






































2? 






























.'•;,\ 


\ 


















• ;i 








/ 


ys>. 


jfc 





</i 


# 


fe 


V 


V 




/ 




































v 


*_ 


/ 






































V 


' 






















•.'•'. 
































































;•"% 


i '•' 














•;•;. 
























/ 


\ 


■ ; {i 


V'' 


si 


T M 


(~ 


^/ 


7$ 


*v 


4/ 


w 


& 


^5 












£i4 


/■. 


?.? 


/• 


N 


±m.. 








Vi 


;■'■' 


tf 


TTT 




Si' 










5g 


^: 










\ 








# 


\ 


/ 






\ 






















\ 


L 




/ 


/# 


































V 


j 


y 












v.; > 


V 






















s 


/ 
















V 






^ 






















:•• 














\ 


ft 


^ 


































































































































.•':•'. 




































; 
















;*t*i 




















■•.'J 






































































•.-.•. 






















A 


<rJL 


£ 


v*r 


«^ 


ft 


*v 


m 


'■.C 


tf< 


7^4 


V 


>f 






























xk 


Y'a 


# 


/.sv 


4 






.•.'. 




















:•'••'' 














€ 


W 


// 


\ 

/9s 


{ 3 £ g & i C 4 

> S. % 'S * $ % § 

ArtOA/774 /Ja/o Yk/Ui 



MOISTURE CHART— Notice how the amount of moisture in 
these four classes of coal changes in the same direction according 
to the season. There is a marked tendency to higher moisture 
during the winter months. 



40 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

One more point in regard to moisture must be con- 
sidered, and that is in relation to operating records. 
When coal is weighed, as fired, as a part of the boiler 
room record, moisture should be taken into considera- 
tion, for it makes up a part of the weight of the coal 
fired, but reduces by that much the heating power 
introduced under the boilers. 

How the "B. T. U." Is a Positive Measure of Value. 

Up to this point we have been discussing negative 
indications of fuel value. Ash and moisture are not 
heat producers, and their relative presence or absence 
lowers or raises the possible limits of the positive factor 
— the heat-producing power of a given lot of coal. It 
does not, by any means, indicate the actual heat-pro- 
ducing power, which can only be determined by direct 
experimental methods with an instrument known as a 
calorimeter. To demonstrate the necessity of actually 
determining the B.T.U., tests of ten samples of coal 
have been taken, and each one reduced to the same 
basis — 10 per cent, ash in dry coal. 

1. Semi-Bituminous . . . 14,350 B.T.U.Dry Normal 

2. Semi-Bituminous . . . 13,950 B.T.U.Dry Normal 

3. Semi-Bituminous . . . 13,510 B.T.U.Dry Known to have 

been heated in 
storage 

4. Bituminous 14,000 B.T.U.Dry Normal 

5. Bituminous 13,500 B.T.U.Dry Normal 

6. Anthracite 13,810 B.T.U.Dry Normal 

7. Anthracite 13,050 B.T.U.Dry Normal 

8. Anthracite 12,410 B.T.U.Dry 

9. Anthracite ...... 12,180 B.T.U.Dry 

10. Anthracite 11,780 B.T.U.Dry 

41 



THE COST OF POWER 

Why the Calorimeter Is a Necessity. 

It can be seen at a glance, first, that there is an 
appreciable difference in heat value between two sam- 
ples of the same general character of coal of the same 
ash percentage and, second, that there is a marked 
difference in the heat value between different classes 
of coal. 

The first two tests are of perfectly normal, fresh- 
'mined semi-bituminous coal. No. 3 is a semi-bitumi- 
nous coal, the heating value of which has been reduced 
by heating in storage. In this particular case, the 
fact that this lot of coal had been heated was known, 
but the purchaser cannot always have means of know- 
ing such a fact. The coal delivered may actually be 
considerably poorer than a simple statement of the ash 
percentage w'ould indicate. 

The two bituminous coal tests (Nos. 4 and 5) 
are both normal, and show the possible variations under 
normal conditions. The distinction between semi-bi- 
tuminous and bituminous coal will be described later, 
as well as the reason for the variation in heating value 
between the different classes of coal. 

Why It Is Not Safe to Depend on Ash Tests Alone. 

Of the five last tests, the first two are normal 
anthracites. The last three are tests of a peculiar 
kind of anthracite, which makes its appearance from 
time to time. It usually runs quite low in ash, and 
very low in heat in comparison to the amount of ash. 
The explanation of this phenomenon has not been de- 
termined exactly. This much is known, however, that 
these coals contain some substance which is not a heat 

42 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

producer, and which is not commonly a constituent of 
the volatile matter of coal, although it is driven off as 
volatile. Thus one of these anthracites, when tested by 
the standard method for volatile, showed over 17 per 
cent., which is the normal volatile of a high-grade semi- 
bituminous coal. The delivery of a cargo of coal repre- 
sented by one of the above tests nearly shut down the 
plant of a client of the Fuel Engineering Company. The 
coal had been sampled and the test was being run when 
a frantic telephone call was received from the client 
to ask what the results of the test were. He said that 
he could not keep up steam, although the coal did not 
seem to contain more than the ordinary amount of ash. 
When the test was completed, it was apparent that he 
had received a lot of this "freak" anthracite. Had this 
consumer been judging his coal, or paying for it on 
the basis of ash alone, he would have paid the full 
price for a very inferior coal. This experience clearly 
illustrates the fact that the buyer of coal is buying 
heat units and not an absence of $sh. 

Why It Is Difficult to Obtain Accurate Heat Value 
Determinations. 
Mr. Joseph W. Hays, a prominent engineer, in an 

article published in "System," March, 1912, said: 

"A heat value determination is an exceedingly 
difficult thing to make with accuracy. An ordi- 
nary laboratory, be its chemists ever so able, 
should not be trusted with a B.T.U. determination. 
Such determination, if it is to be relied upon, re- 
quires high-priced calorimeters not found in aver- 
age laboratories, and also involves a great deal of 
skill and experience in the manipulation of such 

43 



THE COST OF POWER 

apparatus. There are a great many calorimeters 
on the market for the determination of fuel values 
— some of them cannot be depended upon within 
500 heat units. There is no such thing as a calori- 
meter that 'anybody can use 5 and be sure of ac- 
curate results. The more reliable the calorimeter 
is, the more expertness is required in its manipu- 
lation." 

The author of this statement has no financial in- 
terest in any coal-testing plant, as far as we know, but 
through his work as an engineer has discovered the 
difficulty of getting accurate results. 

How Heat Determinations Have Been Made More 
Reliable. 

Almost any one of the calorimeters on the market 
to-day will give reliable results if sufficient care is used 
in their operation. The extreme care and the precau- 
tions necessary in their operation make them unreliable 
in the hands of an inexperienced operator, and imprac- 
tical for commercial purposes where it is as important 
to keep down the time consumed in testing (and thus 
the cost) as it is to have thoroughly reliable results. 

The Fuel Engineering Company, long ago, real- 
ized the importance of this, problem, and after extensive 
experiments were conducted over a period of several 
years with thousands of coal samples: and a number of 
different calorimeter designs, an instrument was built 
which is both reliable and free from the usual chances 
of error. This instrument is manufactured in the com- 
pany's own shop for its exclusive use. The U. S. Bu- 
reau of Mines has also recognized this need, and now 

44 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

uses calorimeters designed and built by its own organi- 
zation. Some persons, evidently desiring to impose upon 
the uninitiated and for the purpose of inspiring con- 
fidence in their calorimeter determinations, advertise 
that their calorimeters are "U. S. Government Stand- 
ard." There is no such instrument, unless it be con- 
sidered one of those which are in actual use by the 
Government, which cannot, manifestly, be in the hands 
of a private individual. And even if such a thing were 
possible, it would have little meaning, for the op- 
eration of the instrument is so very important. You 
would hardly choose a surgeon whose sole qualification 
was the possession of a fine set of instruments. 



45 



THE COST OF POWER 



PART III 



How Volatile Matter Indicates the Kind of Coal. 

Before passing on to a translation of coal terms 
into money terms 9 we should understand the kinds 
of coal as contrasted with the varying quality of coal. 
Volatile matter was briefly described earlier in this 
volume as that part of the coal which is driven off in 
the form of gas when the coal is subjected to heat. 
This is the part of the coal that makes smoke, and in 
its improper combustion lies the secret of many power 
plant losses. In its composition lies the explanation of 
variations of heating value between two coals of the 
same ash content. The commercial coal test gives only 
the quantity of volatile, for an ultimate analysis show- 
ing its composition is a slow and expensive thing to 
make — too costly and of too little commercial signifi- 
cance to be of value to the plant manager. We there- 
fore will discuss volatile chiefly from the point of view 
of quantity, its composition being treated only in gen- 
eral terms. 



How Coal Is Scientifically Classified. 

Many authorities have suggested methods of scien- 
tifically classifying coals. Practically all of the sug- 
gested methods have depended upon the volatile in some 

46 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

way. For commercial purposes the following divisions 
have been pretty generally accepted. 

Anthracite . . . up to 8 per cent. Volatile 
Semi- Anthracite . 8 per cent, to 12 per cent. Volatile 
Semi- Bituminous . 12 per cent, to 25 per cent. Volatile 
♦Bituminous (Eastern) 25 per cent, to 40 per cent. Volatile 
♦Middle Western Bituminous runs even higher than 40 per cent, in some 



This classification includes the three great classes 
of coal used by 'power plants. The semi-anthracite is 
included to explain the gap that would otherwise exist 
between the anthracite and semi-bituminous, although 
coal of this character is comparatively rare. This is 
not as arbitrary a subdivision as it may appear at 
first glance, for it has been found that the heating 
value of coal, free from ash and moisture, varies with 
the character of the coal and helps to define the limits 
of this classification. In the coal trade the term bi- 
tuminous is often used to include both bituminous and 
semi-bituminous coals, and therefore care should be 
taken to determine exactly what is meant when the 
term bituminous is used. 

How Heat Values of Different Classes of Coals Com- 
pare. 

On the basis of the same percentage of ash, the heat 
values of the coals listed above rise as the volatile 
increases until it reaches about 25 per cent., and then 
become lower in the higher volatile coals which go to 
make up the strictly bituminous class. Thus the com- 
bustible portion of bituminous and anthracite overlap 
in their limits of heat value. It should be understood 
that this is a general classification which is sufficient for 
commercial purposes. These limits can be more clearly 

47 



THE 



COST 



O F 



POWER 



defined only with additional data beyond that sup- 
plied by the commercial coal test. The figures given 
on page 41 for the purpose of demonstrating the neces- 
sity of the calorimeter determinations will now have 
greater significance, and those on normal coals are 
repeated here: 

Anthracite . . 10 per cent. Ash From 13,050 to 13,810 B.T.U.Dry 
Semi-Bituminous 10 per cent. Ash From 13,950 to 14,350 B.T.U.Dry 
Bituminous . . 10 per cent. Ash From 13,500 to 14,000 B.T.U.Dry 



What Is Shown by Typical Tests of Three Important 
Classes. 

Let us examine a little further typical tests of the 
three important classes: 





Anthracite 


Semi-Bituminous 


Bituminous 


Ash 

Volatile .... 
Fixed Carbon 


10% 

7% 

83% 


10% 
17% 
73% 


10% 
27% 
63% 


B.T.U. Dry . . 


100% 
13,800 


100% 
14,250 


100% 
14,000 



Assuming, as we have, that the ash remains con- 
stant as the volatile percentage increases, the amount 
of fixed carbon must become less. Carbon is uniform 
in heat value, and for the purposes of this discussion 
it may be taken as 14,500 B.T.U. per pound. Sub- 
tracting the proper B.T.U. for the respective percent- 
ages of fixed carbon above leaves the amount of heat 
value due to the volatile, thus: 



48 



BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 



Anthracite 



# Semi- 
Bituminous 



Bituminous 



B.T.U. per lb. of Coal 

B.T.U. of Carbon 

B.T.U. from Volatile 

B.T.U. per lb. of Volatile . . . . 

Per cent, of Volatile 

Per cent, of total heat from Volatile 



13,800 

12,035 

1,765 

25,214 

7% 
13% 



14,250 

10,585 

3,665 

21,559 

17% 
26% 



14,000 
9,135 

4,865 
18,018 

27% 
35% 



To get the heat value of the volatile in the dif- 
ferent types of coal on a comparable basis, the amount 
that a pound of volatile will produce has been calcu- 
lated. A glance at this item above will show that as 
the amount of volatile increases, its heat value per 
pound becomes less. The reason is that the additional 
volatile, as we go up in the scale, adds little or nothing 
to the total amount of heat-producing gas. This rough 
comparison is simply to indicate some of the basic 
differences in coal. The heat values calculated for the 
volatile are only true of these particular samples, which 
have been taken as representative of types, but give 
a little indication of the impossibility of calculating 
the heat value of any coal without an analysis of the 
volatile constituents. This is not disclosed by the com- 
mercial coal test. The only way is to obtain the heat 
valtie with a reliable calorimeter carefvlly operated by 
an expert. 

Why the Amount of Volatile Is Important in Selecting 
the Kind of Coal to Burn. 

The per cent, of the total heat of the coal pro- 
duced by the volatile is worth considering. The last 
line of the tabulation shows that this may be anywhere 



49 



THE COST OF POWER 

from 13 per cent, in anthracite to 35 per cent, in bi- 
tuminous. Thus a very appreciable amount of the 
heat-producing power introduced under your boilers is 
liberated in the form of an elusive gas — ready to float 
out the top of your stack unless your furnace is de- 
signed to mix and burn it with a proper amount of 
ttir. The coal must be properly fired, and draft and 
thickness of fire regulated to accord with the character 
of the coal and the design of the furnace, or a large 
part of the energy in the volatile will escape. 

A plant should be designed for the particular kind 
of coal which is most economical at a given point. Un- 
fortunately, most plants have been built with little 
regard to this factor, and so the problem is to suit the 
coal to the plant, and then teach the firemen to use 
it to the best advantage. Sometimes local conditions 
make it necessary to burn the lower volatile coals, for 
they are easier to burn without dense smoke, and this, 
of course, must be considered. At some points small 
sizes of anthracite are more economical than semi- 
bituminous; under some conditions it is advisable to 
mix the two ; or a low grade bituminous coal may be 
the thing. Thus we have another element to consider 
in selecting coal — its character — fully as important as 
the question of quality of coal obtainable or the relia- 
bility of the dealer. 

How the Classes of Coal are Further Subdivided 
After Mining. 

We have seen how coal is divided into certain broad 
classes based upon its natural characteristics. Some 
coal, after mining, is shipped to market containing 
lumps and fine coal, just as it happened to come out 

50 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

of the mine, while at other mines the coal is passed 
over a series of screens to separate the lumps of cer- 
tain sizes. Thus we get such terms as Screened Lump, 
Rwi-of-Mine, Slack, These terms apply to bituminous 
and semi-bituminous coals. 

Anthracite coal has an elaborate system of sizes 
from Broken or Grate, made up of lumps about four 
inches in diameter, down through Egg, Stove, Chestnut, 
Pea, No. 1 Buckwheat, No. 2 Buckwheat (Rice) to No. 
3 Buckwheat (Barley), which is made up of particles 
about one-eighth of an inch across. The Grate, Egg, 
Stove and Chestnut sizes are known as domestic sizes 
and their use is almost entirely limited to stoves and 
house heaters. They produce the chief revenue of the 
anthracite mines. The smaller sizes were long consid- 
ered useless, and great culm banks grew up at the 
mines until the coal shortage at the time of the great 
coal strike of 1901 aroused wider interest in the use 
of this small coal. Furnaces were designed to use this 
small coal, and since then millions of tons have been 
shipped from these culm banks for steam purposes. 

These small or steam sizes are the by-product of 
the breakers which crush the coal to the larger domestic 
sizes. The supply of the steam sizes will gradually 
become smaller as the culm banks are exhausted until 
finally there will only be the annual output, and about 
10 per cent, of this will be used in operating the mines. 
The demand for anthracite in localities with strict smoke 
regulations will probably force up the price beyond 
its power value as compared with semi-bituminous and 
bituminous coals, until the larger coal users within our 
metropolitan districts wake up to the fact that these 
latter coals can be used without causing smoke. 

51 



THE 



COST 



O F 



POWER 



□ n 





D 



PEA 



No. 1 BUCK 



No. 2 BUCK No. 3 BUCK 



This illustrates the steam sizes of anthracite. The lump of coal 
passes through a screen having openings the size of the outside 
of the hollow square and passes over a screen having openings 
the size "of the inside of the hollow square. The inside of each 
square is the same size as the outside of the next smaller square. 

Why the Size of Anthracite Is Important. 

Each of the steam sizes of anthracite sells at a dif- 
ferent price y each smaller size selling at a lower price 
although there is no marked difference in fuel value 
between the various sizes, considering each class as a 
whole. It is therefore important to use the smallest 
size of anthracite possible. Many plants now using Pea 
or No. 1 Buckwheat can be equipped at a comparatively 
small cost to burn No. 2 or No. 3 Buckwheat, or a mix- 
ture, and within a year make a saving that will more 
than pay for the alterations. The equipment of your 
plant will determine which size you must use 9 but it is 
important to see that you get the size you have or- 
dered. For example, if your plant must use No. 1 
Buckwheat, it is important to know that you are get- 

52 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

ting it well screened to size. If it runs 50 per cent. 
of smaller sizes, you are not only losing too large a 
part of your coal through the grates and probably 
choking up your draft, but half of the coal has a mar- 
ket value of from 25 to 50 cents less a ton. The 
screening test is therefore a necessary part of a coal 
test on the steam sizes of anthracite. No matter how 
carefully the coal is screened, there is likely to be a 
certain amount of the smaller sizes present; but this 
should never exceed 15 per cent. 

Why Sulphur Is an Undesirable Element in Coal. 

Another quotation from the Government report 
will be found valuable in this connection: 

"Sulphur is an undesirable element in coal. It gen- 
erally occurs in combinations with iron, as iron pyrites, 
and in combination with calcium, as calcium sulphate or 
gypsum. Pyrites can readily be recognized by its heavy 
weight 2 bright brass-like color, and crystalline structure. 
The calcium sulphate occurs in small, thin, white flakes, 
more or less transparent. Of the two sulphur com- 
pounds, the pyrites is generally contained in larger 
quantity in coal, and is harmful because it increases the 
tendency of the coal to clinker. The clinkering is es- 
pecially bad if the percentage of ash is small in propor- 
tion to the sulphur. In such coals the pyrites and the 
ash fuse together and form a thin layer of solid clinker, 
which effectively stops the passage of air through the 
grate, thereby permitting the grate bars to become 
heated from the hot fuel bed just above. The clinker 

53 



THE COST OF POWER 

then melts down into the spaces between the bars, and 
the sulphur seems to combine with the iron of the grate. 
The heat warps the grate bars, and the clinker has such 
corrosive action on the hot iron that a set of grate bars 
is destroyed in the course of a few days. When such 
clinkering occurs, any attempt to slice the fire fails, 
and only slow and very difficult cleaning of the fires 
will remove the clinkers." 

Why Low Sulphur Coals are Usually to be Preferred. 

From the fact that the sulphur percentage is an 
index of clinkering tendencies, the generalization can 
be made that low sulphur coals are preferable to high 
sulphur coals, other things being equal. The U. S. 
Government, at the Fuel Testing Plant at St. Louis, 
investigated the relation of sulphur to clinker, and to 
efficiency. Two quotations from the report of these 
tests give the conclusions reached very clearly: 

"A curve through the average efficiency points 
shows a drop of 5 per cent., with an increase of 5 per 
cent, in the sulphur, or, in other words, every increase 
in the per cent, of sulphur in dry coal decreases the 
efficiency in equal amount." 

"The curves . . . show that as the per cent, 
of clinker in the refuse increases the per cent, of sul- 
phur increases ; also that all the highest values for per 
cent, of clinker are grouped with the higher value for per 
cent, of sulphur. The low per cent, of values for sul- 
phur are grouped with the high values for per cent, of 
efficiency and vice versa." 

54 




Starting a high-temperature furnace to determine the fusing point of ash in the 
Testing Plant of the Fuel Engineering Company. (See page 57.) 



1m 








JJ- \ 




m 










n 




■HHi 



A corner in the Sulphur Room in the Testing Plant of the Fuel Engineering Company. 
Determining sulphur in coal is the only part of the coal test, of a chemical nature. 
(See page 53.) 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

How to Avoid Clinker Troubles. 

The amount of sulphur in a coal will not tell us 
definitely whether that coal will clinker under certain 
conditions. Some plants can burn a coal satisfactor- 
ily which will clinker badly in others. Furthermore, 
of two coals of about the same per cent, of sulphur one 
may cause clinker trouble while the other will not, al- 
though both are tried in the same plant under identical 
conditions. Clinkers are caused by the melting of the 
ash, and therefore in selecting a coal for some plants we 
ought to know the melting point of the ash in the coals 
we have to choose from. This is determined by heating 
a cone made of the ash in a special furnace so con- 
structed that the cone can be watched. The tempera- 
ture at which the cone melts is known as the "fusing 
point," and is determined by a thermo electric pyrom- 
eter. Where the requirements of a plant are known in 
this regard, much experiment with coals in the plant can 
be avoided by making fusing point determinations in 
advance. In line with the collection of other coal data, 
the Fuel Engineering Company for years has been de- 
termining the fusing points for a large number of coals 
in addition to the requirements of its clients, the pur- 
pose being to build up comprehensive records on this 
point so that many questions along this line can be an- 
swered for its clients without delay or additional cost to 
them. 

How Systematic Tests Simplify Coal Troubles. 

Did you ever complain to your engineer that lie 
was not keeping up steam, and receive the answer that 
the last lot of coal was too poor? Did you then call up 

57 



THE COST OF POWER 

the coal dealer and have him insist that he had delivered 
a very fine coal, and just the same that other plants near 
you were using satisfactorily? And then wonder which 
one was right? No matter which opinion you accept 
you may be doing an injustice to the other, and thereby 
an injury to yourself. If you had the test of that coal 
before you, you would know positively whether it was 
of the same quality, or better or worse than previous 
shipments, You could settle that point conclusively, 
and without any argument. But what if the test showed 
the coal to be of high grade, and your engineer reported 
trouble with it? Then either the character of coal you 
have been using has been changed so that it does not 
meet your plant requirements, or there is something 
wrong with the way in which it is being used. Whatever 
the situation, the coal test gives you a starting point, 
indicates which way to turn to locate the trouble. Sup- 
pose you have changed your coal because the coal bill 
was climbing too fast. The new coal gives you trouble, 
and in desperation you go back to the first one. If you 
had been systematically testing your fuel you could have 
discovered the reason for the rising cost of power, and 
before making any change you would have known defi- 
nitely the character of coal to buy and would have 
avoided a costly experiment. 

How Often Should Coal Be Tested? 

Every consignment of coal you buy should be 
tested. This does not mean that you need a test for 
every wagon load, or every car; but it does mean that 

68 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

all the coal you buy should be sampled. A sample can 
be so taken that it will fairly represent all the deliv- 
eries by wagon over a period of a week, two weeks or a 
monthj as conditions may require ; thus one test will give 
you the average value of all the coal delivered within the 
period selected. A similar plan can be adopted for car 
deliveries, making one test cover all the coal contained 
in twoj three or five cars as the case may be. If the 
coal is delivered in barges, usually one test can be made 
to satisfactorily check up the cargo, although in some 
cases it is advisable to make two samples for each barge 
load. In general, a safe rule to apply, to keep a thor- 
ough check on yowr coal, is that you need at least four 
or five samples for each 1,000 tons. More than this is 
usually not necessary, except where the consumption is 
so small that the tests would come at too wide intervals 
to furnish a thoroughly continuous record. But no 
matter how many or how few tests you have made, above 
all things be systematic. Give definite instructions for 
some systematic method of taking samples, for if it is 
done only when some one thinks of it, it will surely be 
neglected, and you will be sure to miss sampling the lot 
that you most wanted tested. Spasmodic sampling will 
also fail to give you that definite basis of comparison 
which you will need so much when the time comes to 
consider your next year's supply. Careful and syste- 
matic sampling is no burden whatever. There is always 
some one around a boiler plant who can be entrusted 
with this duty and who can easily spare the small 
amount of time necessary. 

59 



THE COST OF POWER 

How to Take a Representative Coal Sample. 

There is nothing intricate or mysterious about tak- 
ing a sample of coal. Good sampling can be done by 
any reasonably intelligent, able bodied man if he has 
proper instructions. Sampling methods for coal, like 
almost anything else, can be and often are refined to 
such a point that it would take a bright technical grad- 
uate to interpret the instructions. Experience and a 
knowledge of fundamental principles mixed with a fair 
share of common sense on the part of the instructor will 
make a good sampler out of any man of average intelli- 
gence who is willing to follow instructions. It should 
be borne in mind that in sampling a quantity of coal 
the purpose is to represent by a small quantity the 
whole pile, or car, or barge of coal, as the case may be. 
Therefore one shovelful taken at random, or a few hand- 
fuls, or a single lump, selected here and there will not 
be representative. In taking a sample of coal, always 
use a shovel or scoop if no mechanical means are pro- 
vided. Never use the hands, for there will be an involun- 
tary inclination to select lumps that are either par- 
ticularly good looking or especially bad looking. Take 
at least a hundred pounds (two hundred is better), re- 
membering that the size of the largest lumps more than 
anything else affects the size of the sample that should 
be taken. Try to get about the same proportion of 
lumps and fine coal in the sample as there is in the lot 
of coal being sampled. The larger the lumps the larger 
should the sample be to be representative. When this 
gross sample has been taken, the lumps are broken down, 
the coal thoroughly mixed, and the sample reduced in 
size by successive quartering and mixing. The fineness 

60 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

to which the coal is pulverized determines how small 
the sample may be reduced in size and still remain repre- 
sentative; therefore a sample should never be reduced 
below two pounds before being put through a grinding 
machine. It is impossible to go into more detail here 
because specific sampling instructions will vary with the 
amount of coal to be sampled, its character, the method 
of unloading, and the exact purpose for which the 
sample is taken. Enough has been said however to 
show some of the basic principles in taking a good coal 
sample. 

How Good Sampling Has Been Demonstrated. 

There is a certain amount of variation throughout 
a load of coal, and it is therefore impossible to take a 
sample upon which a definite statement can be made 
that a ton of coal or a car of coal contains exactly so 
many heat units, or exactly so many pounds of incom- 
bustible material. The only way this could possibly be 
determined would be to test the entire quantity of coal 
which is manifestly an absurdity. Careful sampling 
will give us the result very closely, well within the limits 
of accuracy demanded for power plant and business re- 
quirements. It is also true that the slight variations in 
sampling are as likely to be on one side as the other of 
a perfect sample, and there is a tendency of these slight 
variations to equalize themselves in a series of samples. 
To find out how closely two sets of samples would 
agree, two of the Fuel Engineering Company's samplers 
were sent to sample each one of ten barges of coal inde- 
pendently. When the samples were brought in, one was 
marked No. 1 and the other No. 2 without regard to 
which sampler took either sample. The tests were 

61 



THE 



COST 



O F 



POWER 



made, and the results tabulated and averaged. Here 
are the ash and sulphur results obtained on each test : 





Per Cent. Ash 


Per Cent 


. Sulphur 


Serial 










Number 












No. 1 


No. 2 


No. 1 


No. 2 


1 


8.33 


8.33 


1.14 


1.35 


2 


10.07 


9.32 


1.78 


1.29 


3 


8.80 


8.29 


2.11 


1.88 


4 


8.09 


8.46 


1.64 


1.32 


5 


10.02 


9.87 


1.35 


1.73 


6 


10.02 


10.02 


1.46 


1.41 


7 


8.70 


8.28 


1.28 


.96 


8 


8.36 


8.62 


1.04 


1.14 


9 


8.38 


8.97 


1.33 


1.34 


10 


10.07 


10.63 


2.51 


2.34 


Average . . 


9.08 


9.08 


1.56 


1.46 



The fact that the average of the ash percentages 
for each series came out exactly the same is, of course, 
pure chance; but both sets of figures show how 
closely two sets of samples properly taken will check 
each other, and how the slight variations offset each 
other. These samples were taken in the regular course 
of business for a client of the Fuel Engineering Com- 
pany, and the results on each barge were sent to the 
client as soon as run, the samples on the different barges 
being several days and in some cases weeks apart. 

How a Plant Manager Proved the Accuracy of 
Sampling. 

A certain plant manager, who incidentally was buy- 
ing his coal under specifications, became involved in a 
discussion as to whether it made any difference whether 



BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 



he had a test for each car of coal or made a composite 
sample of several cars. He made up his mind to test it 
out and see for himself. He instructed his engineer to 
take a sample from each car separately, mix and quarter 
it down to the usual two-pound sample for testing, and 
then take what was left of the three gross samples, mix 
them all up together and quarter this composite sample 
down to a two-pound sample. All four samples were 
then tested with the following result : 





Three cars sampled separately 


Average of 

these three 

tests 


Results of 
test on 




No. 1 


No. 2 


No. 3 


composite 
sample 


Ash 

Volatile Matter . 
Fixed Carbon . 
Sulphur . . . 
B.T.U.Dry . . 


11.22% 
17.70% 
71.08% 
2.13% 
13,910 


12.97% 
18.52% 
68.51% 
3.49% 
13,590 


12.67% 
18.12% 
69.21% 
2.36% 
13,660 


12.29% 

18.11% 

69.60% 

2.66% 

13,720 


12.07% 
18.54% 
69.39% 
2.77% 
13,765 



The man who took these samples was not an experi- 
enced sampler, but had learned how to sample from in- 
structions that covered less than half a typewritten 
page, and had followed his instructions. 

How the Testing Plant Is a Model of Accuracy, Speed 
and Efficiency. 

The fact that the Fuel Engineering Company's 
plant is the largest commercial coal testing plant in the 
world has made it possible in that institution to divide 
the testing work up so that each man becomes an ex- 
pert in his one particular part of the test. Accuracy 
is not only promoted by this specialization, but by the 
fact that the results cannot be influenced, even uncon- 



63 



THE COST OF POWER 

sciously, by a knowledge of a part of the results. For 
example, the man operating the calorimeters has no op- 
portunity to form any preconceived notion that his 
results on a particular sample should come out high or 
low, for he neither knows the character of the coal nor 
what results the ash and moisture department has ob- 
tained on that sample. Each sample is entered under a 
number as soon as it is received, and goes to the testing 
department with no other identifying marks, all the 
data being retained in the office. By a specially de- 
signed system of labels it is made impossible to assign 
the wrong number to a test. Each part of the test is 
determined by different men, and the results* turned in 
to the office separately. Here the different parts of each 
test are assembled, and the necessary computing done. 
The quality of any particular coal sample is of only 
secondary importance at this point, for the test is first 
examined for the harmonious interlocking of the various 
elements. 

How Each Test Is Subjected to Closest Scrutiny. 

In spite of the specialization of equipment and 
men, which makes accuracy almost automatic, no re- 
sults are assumed to be correct simply because the test- 
ing department made them. There is, of course, a cer- 
tain amount of the human element that enters into all 
scientific observations, but this has been reduced by the 
Fuel Engineering Company to a minimum by the im- 
provement of apparatus and equipment. What little 
of this human uncertainty remains, is rigidly guarded 
against by careful inspection and comparison of re- 
sults ; if any part of the test does not bear its proper 

64 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

relation to the other parts, or shows even the slightest 
evidence of being a little different from what experience 
would indicate that it should be, a check test is ordered. 
Each test is subjected to the same careful scrutiny 
before the final O. K. releases it. This feature of the 
work protects the interests of Fuel Engineering Com- 
pany clients and the Company's, own reputation for ac- 
curacy, just as the inspection department of a factory 
insures the maintenance of standard quality of the 
goods shipped to customers. No records or notes are 
permitted to remain in the testing department. 

Why You Pay More and Get Less by Making Your 
Own Coal Tests. 

Some manufacturers who have laboratories of their 
own make coal tests. Perhaps you are one of them. 
These men in your laboratory are specialists in your 
particular manufacturing processes, and in the materials 
you use. Coal testing with them is a side issue — and if 
the truth were known, probably a good deal of a nuis- 
ance and an interruption to their regular work. If your 
coal tests are made as often as they should be, how 
much is it costing you for the time your men spend 
on it? Did you ever look into this point? It would 
be worth your while to find out how much time your 
men spend merely in getting the apparatus for the coal 
test in shape to run the test. This might give you a clue 
to the reason why the Fuel Engineering Company's 
specialized testing plant can turn out results at less 
cost, quicker and more reliably than you can yourself, 
and besides give you valuable coal information which 
your own organization cannot supply at any cost. You 

65 



THE COST OF POWER 

may answer: "These coal tests do not cost me any- 
thing because I must maintain the laboratory anyway." 
Can't your men apply their time much more to your 
advantage on their own special work? If not, it is 
time to look into the efficiency of your laboratory. 

How the Fuel Engineering Company Protects Its 
Clients. 

And there is another point to consider. In case 
of dispute, your own laboratory work is at once under 
the suspicion of bias, whether there is any good ground 
for such a suspicion or not. Isn't it better to have 
this important work done by an independent organiza- 
tion whose very business existence depends upon results 
which can be proven to be correct — whose reputation 
is worth a thousand times more than the favor of any 
coal consumer or dealer? In order to doubly protect 
its clients, the Fuel Engineering Company keeps on file 
the last 10,000 samples tested, and these samples are at 
the command of any client for checking purposes under 
certain regulations which will insure checking by com- 
petent authorities outside the commercial field and so 
removed from all possibility of being swayed by self- 
interest. 

How Test Reports are Mailed Regularly the Day Pol- 
lowing Receipt of Sample — or, if Necessary, 
the Same Day. 

The large amount of coal testing makes it possible 
to turn out complete reports in very short time without 
sacrificing accuracy in the slightest degree. The subdi- 
vision of the testing work reduces the time for the com- 

66 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

plete test to the net time of the longest single determi- 
nation; therefore when special occasion requires it, a 
coal sample received up to noon can be reported on the 
same day. It is only occasionally that test reports are 
really necessary in such a short time, but the Fuel Engi- 
neering Company client knows that quick results can be 
obtained when the necessity does arise. Prompt reports, 
however, are always important, and therefore the rule 
is that all samples received to-day must be reported 
to-morrow. 



67 



THE COST OF POWER 



PART IV 



How Coal Tests Can Be Easily Read in Terms of 
Money. 

We have now established the meaning of the terms 
in a coal test, a thing which every business mem who is 
a user of coal should know. It is not necessary for him 
to sit down and work out for himself the application 
of these different points to his own plant, for the Fuel 
Engineering Company's staff of specialists takes that 
burden from him. The significance of each part of 
the coal test has been explained in detail so that 
you will understand the basic principles. There is 
another step of equal importance to the test itself, 
and that is the financial significance of the figures 
of coal variations already given. Coal is bought to pro- 
duce heat, but the coal bill must be measured in dollars. 
Before proceeding with coal values in terms of money, 
one point should be made clear. The coal which will 
produce the largest amount of heat for a dollar is not 
necessarily the most economical coal to use in a given 
plant. For the sake of simplicity, one thing must be 
discussed at a time; so for the time being the intricate 
problem of coal selection will not be considered, and for 
the present all coal will be assumed to be equally well 
adapted to the plant. 

68 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

How the Value of Coal Is Computed. 

There are two commonly used methods of compar- 
ing coal values. One is to compute the cost of 1,000,- 
000 B.T.U., and the other to figure the number of 
B.T.U. obtained for one cent. It is obvious that with 
coals of different heat value, and at different prices, we 
must have some way of combining the two variables into 
one figure for comparison. To obtain the cost of a mill- 
ion heat units, it is simply necessary to multiply the 
B.T.U. per pound by the number of pounds in a ton, 
and divide the price per ton expressed as cents by the 
number of million B.T.U. The figure known as the 
"B.T.U. Net for lc." was introduced some years ago 
by the Fuel Engineering Company, and has been used 
successfully ever since. This figure is not exactly the 
reverse of the "cost per 1,000,000 B.T.U.," for it also 
takes into consideration the cost of removing the ash. 
This added variable does not change the result to any 
great extent, but it brings the results nearer to a true 
value for comparative purposes; for the higher the ash 
percentage is the lower will be the probable furnace ef- 
ficiency. Another advantage is that when two coals, 
having nearly the same heat value, are compared, the 
one which produces the given heat with smaller amount 
of ash has slightly the better of it. The difference in 
method is not great, however, and need not be discussed 
here at length; for all value comparisons which follow 
the B.T.U. Net for lc. will be used as the basis. 
It should be understood clearly that from the results 
of a test no one can fix an absolute value for any given 

69 



THE 



COST 



O F 



POWER 



coal. All results are relative. We cannot say that a 
certain coal at a given point is worth $2.50 a ton, 
but it can be definitely calculated that it is worth $2.50 
as compared with another coal which is offered at $2.60. 

How Coal Tests are Translated Into Money. 

If this method is applied to the tests previously 
given to illustrate the variations in quality of No. 1 
Buckwheat (page 27), we find the greatest difference 
within one month is $1.35 a ton, using as the standard 
the average of about 5,000 deliveries, at an assumed 
price of $3.50. The smallest difference in value, from 
highest to lowest, within one month is 65 cents a ton. 
To repeat all of the figures for the two years would 
become tedious, for the reader is already familiar with 
the possible variations in quality; but a few of the fig- 
ures are given below, with the B.T.U. added, as well 
as the money value based on the standard stated above. 



Month 


Ash 


B.T.U.Dry 


Comparative 
Value 


Difference in 

Value 

Per Ton 


February, 1912 . . 
May, 1912 .... 
February, 1913 . . 
June, 1913 .... 
October, 1913 . . . 


10.18 
28.42 
11.83 
23.93 
10.20 
33.38 
6.32 
31.85 
10.64 
26.06 


13,675 
10,605 
13,235 
11,205 
13,590 

9,420 
13,950 

9,795 
13,360 
10,845 


#3.95 
2.96 
3.81 
3.16 
3.92 
2.58 
4.05 
2.70 
3.85 
3.04 


$0.99 
.65 

1.34 

1.35 

.81 



70 



BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 



Why Many Coal Losses are Not Discovered. 

It has been pointed out before that it is unlikely 
that any one purchaser would get all of the best or all 
of the worst, but some figures on the coal actually de- 
livered to two neighboring plants will show the difference 
in value that may be present in actual practice. The 
figures below are averages of tests made systematically 
throughout a year. For comparative purposes, the 
price which plant A paid is given, and the relative value 
of the coal delivered to plant B is calculated from it. 





Ash 


B.T.U.Dry 


Comparative Value 


Plant A . . . . 

Plant B . . ■ . . 


14.04 

18.62 


12,757 
12,000 


#3.50 
3.27 



Here is a difference in value of 23 cents a ton for 
the average quality throughout a year. The coal that 
plant B was using would not make any particular 
trouble, and no complaints would probably be heard 
from the boiler room. With no tests, or even with tests 
and with no basis for comparison, the manager of Plant 
B might easily have gone on buying this coal at the 
$3.50 price and never know that he could do better; 
yet here was a difference of $230 for every 1,000 tons 
shoveled into his bunkers. With such comparative data 
the manager had the choice of changing to the dealer 
supplying the better coal, or of obtaining the poorer 
coal at a price sufficiently lower to make it pay to use it. 
The purchase of coal under specifications will be treated 
in detail further on, but it is fitting to mention here 
that the purpose of properly drawn specifications is to 



71 



THE 



COST 



O F 



POWER 



make such comparisons automatic, and to insure the 
maintenance of the standard throughout the year. 

Why Wide Differences in Money Value are Not Lim- 
ited to Any One Kind of Coal. 

The example given above is not extreme, by any 
means, and hundreds of similar comparisons could be 
taken from the records on hundreds of plants contained 
in the Fuel Engineering Company library. Bituminous 
and semi-bituminous coal varies in value even more than 
anthracite, as a general thing, and the problem is more 
complicated, for there are many more mines or dealers 
from which to choose. Here are averages of tests made 
during a year at two plants using semi-bituminous coal. 
They were picked out at random, and the better of the 
two coals is not of exceptionally high quality. There 
is a difference of 81 cents a ton, using the quality of coal 
delivered to Plant D at $3.00 a ton as the standard for 
comparison. 





Ash 


B.T.U.Dry 


Comparative Value 


Plant C . . . . 
Plant D . . . . 


7.96 
15.42 


14,469 

13,253 


13.31 
3.00 



The selection of anthracite coal is largely limited 
to comparisons of value like this, but when bituminous 
or semi-bituminous coals are used there are added the 
equally important considerations of adapting the coal 
to the plant and to the special requirements demanded 

72 




Calorimeter Room in the Testing Plant of the Fuel Engineering Company. 
(See pages -4 -2-44.) 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

of it. A disregard of these features might easily in- 
crease the real difference shown above to 40 or 50 cents 
a ton. Costly experiments can only be avoided by know- 
ing the record of the coals and shippers together with 
a wide knowledge of the principles of efficient use of 
coal, and a study of the conditions at the particular 
plant in question. 

How the Cost of Transportation Prom Different Fields 
is an Important Factor in Selecting the Most 
Economical Coal to Use. 
As the cost of transportation rises, it becomes in- 
creasingly important to secure a coal of uniformly high 
quality. The freight rates from different coal fields of 
course are affected by the geographical locations of the 
plant and mines. Therefore, taking into consideration a 
fair average figure for the heat value of coals from the 
various fields the freight rates will determine the class 
of coal most economical to use, plant conditions permit- 
ting. Take, for example, the relative value of No. 2 
Buck, No. 3 Buck and semi-bituminous, based on the 
average of several thousand tests of each kind. Taking 
representative prices during April, 1914, at tidewater 
New York, the figures show that No. 3 Buck at $1.70 
would yield about 147,000 B.T.U. Net for 1c, while 
No. 2 Buck at $2.30 would yield 110,000, and semi- 
bituminous at $3.00 only 102,500. Thus assuming that 
the same plant efficiency could be obtained with each 
kind, No. 3 Buck would be 33 per cent, cheaper than 
No. 2 Buck, and this, in turn, would be 7 per cent, 
cheaper than semi-bituminous. 

75 



THE 



COST 



O F 



POWER 



<^ <4rZO 

\. 4,00 

$J^O 
> 3.ZO 

< ISO 

p Z.60 
^ Z-£0 
tQ Z£tf 

^ /.SO 

N /^ 

> 


rt/fi £A/e/A/f£-/?//VG co. or/s/FkY yv/tx jul y '/4 






























/ 




















































































/ 




























J 


/ 




























/ 










— 


















-/ 




























/ 




























/ 


f 




























/ 




















































































/ 




























/ 




























/ 


r 


























/ 


/ 


























/ 


/ 




























/ 






























INTHRAC/TE VALUE^ 



This chart shows the relative value of anthracite and semi- 
bituminous coal of average quality. For example, it will be seen 
that any one of the steam sizes of anthracite of average quality 
selling at $2.90 per ton is roughly equal to a semi-bituminous coal 
of average quality at $3.51. The average coal quality upon which 
this chart is based was determined from 8,495 tests of semi- 
bituminous and 9,885 tests of steam sizes of anthracite, all of which 
were made by the Fuel Engineering Company of New York. See 
page opposite for a complete explanation of the significance of this 
chart. 



76 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

How the Location of the Plant is an Important Factor 
in Selecting the Most Economical Coal to Use. 

Let us follow this further. If $1.00 a ton is added 
to the cost of each kind for additional transportation, 
the relationship is entirely changed; No. 3 Buck is now 
only 21 per cent, cheaper than No. 2 Buck, while the 
difference between No. 2 Buck and semi-bituminous is 
slight — about ^ of 1 per cent. The infinite num- 
ber of possible combinations makes it impracticable 
to do more than generalize on this point, but the exam- 
ple above will illustrate how important it is to have 
accurate data on the relative fuel values of different 
coals. The figures given above are summarized in the 
following table: 



Kind of Coal 


Price 


B.T.U. Net 
for lc 


Price 


B.T.U. Net 

for lc 


No. 3 Buck . . . 
No. 2 Buck . . . 
Semi- Bituminous . 


|1,70 

2.30 
3.00 


147,000 
110,000 
102,500 


$2.70 
3.30 
4.00 


94,100 

77,400 
77,200 



It is clear that in either of these two assumed 
cases No. 3 Buck is the coal to use, because of the wide 
spread between its value and the value of its nearest 
competitor. If, for any one of a number of possible 
reasons, it happened that a plant could not use No. 3 
Buck, the final choice between No. 2 Buck and semi-bi- 
tuminous would depend upon a closer study of the 
quality and price of particular coals available within 
each group, as well as a study of the equipment and 
operating conditions of the plant in question. The 
chart which is shown on the opposite page will be found 

77 



THE COST OF POWER 

useful in making a rough comparison of the relative 
value of the steam sizes of anthracite and semi-biturrd^ 
nous. For example, the chart shows that any one of the 
steam sizes of anthracite of average quality selling at 
$2.90 per ton is roughly equal to a semi-bituminous 
coal of average quality at $3.51. This does not mean, 
however, that it would pay to use No. 2 Buck at $2.90 
as against a semi-bituminous coal of average quality at 
$3.51, for as a general thing the small sizes of anthra- 
cite will not give as high furnace and boiler efficiency 
as can be obtained with a semi-bituminous or bituminous 
coal. The amount of this difference depends upon the 
individual plant, and will modify the figures obtained 
by the chart to that extent. The possibility of the an- 
thracite or semi-bituminous in any particular case being 
above or below an average quality will further modify 
the figures also. There is always the further possibility, 
advisable under some conditions, of mixing a small size 
of anthracite with a soft coal. 



Why Accurate Coal Quality Reports are Necessary 
for the Operating Department. 

The value of the coal test in distinguishing between 
classes of coals, in selecting the most economical kind, 
and in choosing the best coal for the money within a 
given class, in other words, the value of the coal test 
from the purchasing angle covers only a part of its 
usefulness to the power plant owner. To buy the larg- 
est amount of heat producing power for a dollar is 
only half the problem, for the coal buyer must turn his 
coal into power; there are many chances of loss between 
the coal bunker and delivered power. The possible losses 

78 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

of this kind and their prevention will be discussed in 
detail at another place, but it is worth while to recall, 
at this point, that the coal test is a vital part of the 
operating department's records. 

The statement that the plant is evaporating so 
many pounds of water per pound of coal means nothing 
unless the quality of the coal used is known. For exam- 
ple, an equivalent evaporation of 8 pounds of water per 
pound of coal, may mean anything from 70 per cent, to 
50 per cent, efficiency, depending upon the heat value 
of the coal used. Losses due to the purchase of in- 
ferior coal, or the wrong kind of coal can be prevented 
by proper supervision of the quality and kind of coal 
delivered — the records used in buying must be used by 
the operating department if the losses occurring after 
the coal has been delivered are to be discovered and 
reduced. Efficiency is the relation of the output of 
energy to the input. The efficiency of furnace and 
boiler is that proportion of energy in the coal fired 
which is actually transferred to the water in the boiler. 
It is obvious that we cannot determine how efficient a 
plant is unless we know how much energy there was to 
start with ; consequently the coal test is the foundation 
of every determination of power plant efficiency. Tests 
made to assist the buying department therefore should 
always be placed freely at the disposal of the engineer 
in charge of the operation of the plant. 

Why Greater Efficiency Does Not Always Mean Lower 
Cost. 

Efficiency, economy, capacity — these three terms 
are often confounded, resulting usually in loss to a plant 

79 



THE COST OF POWER 

manager who docs not clearly distinguish between them. 
In many plants there is a constant struggle to increase 
the efficiency of a power plant, to reduce the proportion 
of heat supplied to it that is lost, without realizing that 
the result may not be true economy. For example, 
investigation of coal value may disclose that it is really 
more economical to use a certain coal which will only 
produce 65 per cent, boiler and furnace efficiency than 
to use a higher priced coal from which 75 per cent, 
efficiency can be secured. In short, to reach true econ- 
omy in power production we must not stop with the 
mechanical efficiency of the plant, but must go back to 
the efficiency of the dollar. The confounding of the 
real meaning of efficiency and capacity is responsible for 
many costly experiments with power plant equipment. 
Some special devices are sold on the claim that they 
will increase the efficiency of the plant, when what they 
really do is to make it possible to burn more coal in 
the same equipment in a given time. You get more 
power from the plant, you increase the capacity of your 
plant, but often at a sacrifice in efficiency. It is also 
true that an increase in capacity, even at a sacrifice in 
mechanical efficiency, may make for greater economy due 
to a saving of fixed charges on additional boilers which 
otherwise might have been necessary. Efficiency, econ- 
omy and capacity should each be considered in its true 
meaning to reach the desired result — the right amount 
of power, at the right time, at the least cost. 

Why "Evaporation" Alone Does Not Indicate Effi- 
ciency. 

Here is the answer: "Very frequently unrelia- 
ble reports are made as to the performance of boilers, 

80 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

and large indeed is the number of false or misleading 
statements of this kind. The average layman accepts 
as criterion a statement or determination of 'water 
evaporated per pound of coal.' . . . And yet it 
remains true that when in some manner they have ob- 
tained a single one of the numerous evaporation figures 
from their boiler plant, they frequently imagine that 
they know the degree of economy with which their boilers 
are working. But as a matter of fact, they have no such 
knowledge, even if the determination is entirely correct, 
which is seldom the case. For the economy indicated 
by an evaporative result depends entirely upon the heat 
value of the fuel. Thus an 'equivalent' evaporation of 8 
pounds based on dry coal will represent the fairly high 
boiler and furnace efficiency of 70.5 per cent, if a pound 
of the coal contains 11,000 heat units; but the same 
evaporation with the coal of 14,500 B.T.U. will exhibit 
the poor efficiency of only 53.5 per cent., a vast differ- 
ence indeed. And so the evaporative result of a boiler 
means nothing whatever as indicative of its efficiency 
unless the heat value of the fuel be taken into our cal- 
culation"* 

* Preventable Losses in Factory Power Plants. By David 
Moffat Myers. "Engineering Magazine," April, 1914. Italics 
are our own. 



81 



THE COST OF POWER 



PART V 



How the Coal Test Plays an Important Part in a Vital 
Business Problem. 

Much has been said about coal tests in the preced- 
ing pages, because it is through these tests that we as- 
certain exact differences in character, or in quality, 
and base definite conclusions as to the relative value of 
different lots of coal. The experienced engineer ac- 
customed to dealing with such problems uses the test 
to tell him whether a coal is the particular kind that 
he has found to be most economical to use in a given 
plant, and combines it with other data to discover how 
efficiently the plant is using the coal. This alone, how- 
ever, is not sufficient to make the coal test a vital busi- 
ness force — a real factor in the conduct of a coal con- 
sumer's business. It is very interesting to be able to 
make comparisons of value of coals accurately, and is 
of more than passing importance to know what a coal 
test means; but at the same time you probably have 
said to yourself: "Where are the records upon which 
I can depend for my information?" "How can I, 
busy as I am in running my plant, spare either the time 
or the money to investigate all these different kinds of 
coal, dig out the records of performance of all these 
hundreds of different mining operations or coal deal- 
ers?" It is too big a job, clearly, for any but the 

82 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

very largest industrial organizations even to attempt. 
The ideal solution of the problem would be for several 
hundred coal users to combine the results of their coal 
investigations into one central bureau where the data 
could be classified and indexed, so that each one might 
have the benefit of the combined experience of the others. 
Such a plan for organizing the kind of coal information 
of importance to the business man — a method of vital- 
izing coal data — is now in operation. It is not only 
ideal, but it has been proven thoroughly practical, and 
has been fruitful of unexpectedly far-reaching results 
after more than seven years of building. The test of 
years of service rendered to the coal users participating 
in the plan has demonstrated its value by the saving 
of hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

What Is This Central Bureau of Accurate Coal Facts 
for the Buyer of Coal? 

Back in 1907, a company was formed with one new 
idea as its sole claim to distinction. This company is 
the Fuel Engineering Company of New York. The new 
idea was to build up a central bureau of information 
to supply to coal users every kind of data relating to 
coal and its use. To do this several other things were 
necessary. A reliable and efficient testing department 
was the first essential so that all the data collected could 
be depended upon implicitly, and a thorough system of 
indexing had to be devised to make any particular fact 
immediately available no matter how large the library 
of records grew. The co-operation of a large number 
of coal users had to be obtained to make the records 
really comprehensive within a reasonable length of time. 
To obtain this co-operation on a large scale it was 

83 



THE COST OF POWER 

necessary to create an organization along new lines, 
capable of supplying a service both accurate and 
prompt, and, equally important, at a cost which would 
bear a relatively low ratio to the cost of coal. All this 
is now an accomplished fact, and to-day the Fuel Engi- 
neering Company library contains more than 25,000 
tests of coal delivered to its clients. The amount of 
coal represented by these tests would fill a solid train 
of 40-ton coal cars extending from New York to San 
Francisco. 

How the Fuel Engineering Company Records are 
Collected. 

These records are not only unique because of their 
size and wide application, but they stand out as the 
product of co-operation of the coal users themselves — 
the men who buy coal to produce power. The Fuel 
Engineering Company has never sought the business of 
the man who occasionally wants a sample of coal 
tested, for such business means nothing more than the 
operation of a coal testing plant, and contributes noth- 
ing to what many consider the most valuable part of 
the Fuel Engineering Company Service. The company's 
coal testing plant is operated primarily for the benefit 
of coal users who join m the plan under certain con- 
ditions, the chief one being that for each sample tested 
for them the dealer's name and name of coal (if known) 
will be furnished. Thus each client furnishes a small 
amount of information, which is in no way detrimental 
to his interests to divulge, and receives in return the 
use of all of the information of like kind supplied by 
the large number of other coal users. 

84 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

How to Secure Information From This Confidential 
Library of Records. 

The use of this great library of coal information is 
absolutely restricted to those who agree to do their 
small part in constantly adding to it. Furthermore, it 
is not even necessary for the client to come and dig 
out his own information ; a request by mail or telephone 
will put trained Fuel Engineering Company investiga- 
tors on the trail of the desired information immediately. 
It is obvious that the use of the valuable records must 
be limited further to coal consumers who are willing 
to agree to furnish a certain amount of information 
(or in other words will agree to have a certain number 
of coal tests made each year) ; also, to a certain extent, 
the permanency of the relations between the client and 
the company must be assured. Were this not insisted 
upon, it would be possible for a coal user to test out 
one or tyto samples and then demand a report based 
on these records, although he had added almost nothing 
to the common fund of information. This plan also 
makes it possible to estimate quite accurately the size 
of the organization needed to supply the service, and 
thus help to keep the cost of supplying the service down 
to a minimum. 

How the Record of a Particular Coal or Coal Dealer 
Can be Found in Less Than a Minute. 

So thoroughly has the Fuel Engineering Company's 
system of indexing been worked out that the record of 
any particular coal dealer or miner can be found al- 
most instantly in the midst of this really tremendous 
mass of coal information. The answer to a coal ques- 

85 



THE COST OF POWER 

tion docs not have to be worked out after you ask it. 
The work of indexing and classifying every bit of coal 
data obtained goes on constantly, so that when you want 
some particular information it will be found in its place 
waiting for some one to use it. Starting with the name 
of the dealer or miner, the name of the coals he sells 
can be found; this leads direct to the information on 
the character and quality of the coal. Or you can 
start with the name of a coal, find its characteristics 
and then turn at once to the dealer or miner who 
furnishes it and ascertain his record of reliability, per- 
haps something about his attitude toward his customers, 
the annual production of his mines, whether he has bid 
on specifications, etc. If you wish you can select a cer- 
tain county or district, and pick out the names of the 
miners in the district, or the names of dealers supplying 
coal of a particular character. It makes no difference 
from what angle of your coal problem you start 9 these 
records automatically lead you direct to the desired nr- 
formation. As a time saver, a money saver and a trou- 
ble saver this system of records is invaluable to the coal 
user; this is especially so when it is considered as the 
foundation of a complete Coal Service, an organization 
of specialists at your command for advice and counsel. 

How the Records are Used by Coal Consumers to Save 
Money. 

When the time comes around for determining upon 
next year's coal supply, the coal consumer, fortified with 
Fuel Engineering Company records, has no fear of 
costly experiments. Too often are coal contracts re- 
newed for no better reason than that the coal has kept 
the plant running, and the buyer fears to try a change 

86 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

because it will be a pure gamble whether he happens to 
choose a better or poorer coal. It is only natural to 
hesitate to make a change under such conditions of 
uncertainty — it is perhaps wisdom to let well enough 
alone. The best information he can get is the optimistic 
statement of a coal salesman, or perhaps a few tests 
selected for sales purposes. The salesman is not an 
engineer nor has he made a careful study of the buyer's 
plant, but even if he were a trained engineer and thor- 
oughly familiar with the plant, how much of a chance 
is there that he would ever recommend the use of some 
coal he was not selling? Though he may be as honest 
as the day is long, his sole interest is to sell his own coal, 
and he will bring into play all the resources of an able 
salesman to persuade you to buy it. Contrast with 
this situation the methods of a client of the Fuel Engi- 
neering Company, which does not buy or sell coal, and 
has no interest, however remote, in the sale of any coal. 
This company sells nothing but its services, and the 
members of its staff have only one interest — to see that 
you select, buy and use your coal, in the most economi- 
cal manner. The records which this organization has 
at its command to aid it in solving your problems make 
those of any single manufacturing plant or coal dealer 
seem insignificant. 

How These Records Help the Coal Buyer to Reach the 
Correct Decision. 

Mr. Jones, a client of some years' standing, writes : 
"We are now ready to take up the question of our coal 
supply for next year. Will you please send us a list 
of coals, and dealers selling them, so that we can obtain 
prices?" Mr. Jones knows that his requirements have 

87 



THE COST OF POWER 

been studied long since, and that the exact character 
of coal best suited to those requirements is well known 
to our organization. It is a simple matter, therefore, 
to select from the list of coals of this character those 
which have a demonstrated record of uniform quality, 
and the dealers who are best able to handle his busi- 
ness, eliminating those who have been unfair or unrelia- 
ble in their dealings with other clients. Mr. Jones gets 
the boiled-down list by return mail, and obtains com- 
petitive bids. He is able to take advantage of competi- 
tive conditions because he has no fear of experiment, 
knowing that his final selection will be based upon the 
actual past performance of the coals under considera- 
tion. On the other hand, if his present dealer can make 
an offer which is demonstrated to be the best of the lot, 
he has the satisfaction of knowing that it is still the 
best coal for him to buy. The bids received are sub- 
mitted to the Fuel Engineering Company, the prices 
are carefully compared with the quality of the coal of- 
fered, and a report is made from which Mr. Jones can 
quickly and easily make his decision. 

How it is Easy to Settle Each Coal Question as it 
Arises, Conclusively and Promptly — if You 
Have the Facts. 

Every coal consumer receives during the year many 
requests to consider this or that coal. Many clients 
settle each one of these offers as it comes up. Here is 
a typical letter from a client who uses the service in this 
way: 

"The John Smith Coal Company has offered 

us its coal called 'Red River 5 at $3.05 per ton. 

88 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

Please let us know what your records show on the 
quality of this coal, whether it is the kind of coal 
adapted to our conditions, and how it compares in 
value with the coal we are now using." 

Return mail would bring a report in this form : 
"The 'Red River' coal sold by The John Smith 
Coal Company has proven of very uniform quality, 
running low in ash and sulphur. The character of 
this coal is the same as the coal you are using, but 
the price asked for it is too high to make it more 
economical than your present coal. The average of 
tests on 128 deliveries is as follows : 

Ash 7.41% 

Sulphur 1.12% 

Volatile 20.32% 

B.T.U 14,482 

Based upon this average you would have to buy 
this coal at $2.95 to do as well as you are doing." 

The particular coal offered might have been ill- 
adapted to this plant for any one of a dozen reasons, or 
it might have been an offer which the owner could not 
afford to let slip. In either case, it was important to 
be able to come to some definite conclusion, based on 
established facts, and to do it promptly. 

How You Can Find Unexpected Sources of Coal 
Supply. 

Some coal users say : "It is no use to try to adopt 
scientific methods because I am dependent upon one 
dealer and one kind of coal." But are you sure that 
you really are so limited? Certainly it is worth while 
to investigate this point thoroughly, and find some other 

89 



THE COST OF POWER 

source of supply if it is humanly possible. There is no 
better way to run this point down than to enlist the 
resources of this extensive system of coal records and 
trained investigators wlvo are accustomed to settling 
just such problems. A large brewery in one of the 
larger Eastern cities took Fuel Engineering Company 
Service for this very reason. They felt that their con- 
dition was hopeless, and needed outside assistance. 
Their problem was solved, and quickly too, with the re- 
sult that they saved 90 cents a ton on more than 10,000 
tons of coal. And if you are really limited to one source 
of supply under present conditions, it is possible that the 
conditions can be changed. Assuming that your dealer is 
doing the very best he can for you, that he even takes 
a philanthropic interest in the success of your business, 
is it good business policy to place the power of control- 
ling such a vital part of your business in the hands of 
another who has no responsibility for your profits? As 
a matter of protection, whether you change your dealer 
or not, you should certainly find a secondary or reserve 
supply to draw upon. 

How This Bureau of Coal Information Meets Your 
Emergencies. 
Events which interfere with or cut off the coal sup- 
ply of a plant usually occur unexpectedly. When they 
do occur, quick and decisive action is necessary to avoid 
great loss, for it is no small matter to shut down a 
plant because of lack of fuel. A strike, a flood, or 
a blizzard may suddenly cut off the customary source 
of supply, and at such times one little hint or sugges- 
tion may be worth thousands of dollars. For example, 
a large plant in northern New York State suddenly 

90 




Library of Records — The original records of more than 25,000 coal tests are protected 
against loss in this way in the vaults of the Fuel Engineering Company. (See page 83) 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

found itself without coal because the dealer with whom 
it had contracted was tied up by a shortage of cars. 
A force of men was put to work cutting wood to keep 
the plant in operation, and a telegram went to the Fuel 
Engineering Company to find some coal en route that 
could be purchased and diverted to them. By knowing 
where to turn, and by being located at a great coal 
market, we were able inside of two hours to locate ten 
cars of coal and start them on their way. Thus within 
a few hours and at a cost of a short telegram this plant 
accomplished what a plant without the facilities of this 
organization at its command could not have accom- 
plished without days of negotiation, if at all. 

Another large plant in New York City had a con- 
tract for a particular coal which had been selected with 
great care to meet certain conditions. It was vitally 
important to keep the plant running twenty-four hours 
a day, and only a limited number of coals could be 
depended upon to do this. A local strike cut off the 
supply of the regular coal, and a quick decision had to 
be made. A telephone call obtained from the Fuel En- 
gineering Company a list of the coals which would be 
suitable, and the manager of this plant was able to 
make arrangements immediately for the delivery of one 
of them, knowing in advance that it would meet his pe- 
culiar requirements. 

How One Manufacturer Saved the Cost of a Year's 
Service by Asking One Question. 

A New England manufacturer, at a time when a 
general suspension in the coal fields was being talked 
of, wrote that he was seriously considering the pur- 
chase of fifteen cars of coal which had been offered to 

93 



THE COST OF POWER 

him, as a reserve in case of a tie-up, and asked for an 
opinion on the matter based upon a sample of the coal 
that he was forwarding. The reply that went to him 
contained the information that this coal was worth fully 
30 cents a ton less than the coal he was regularly 
using, and was not adapted to his conditions at all. 
He was further advised that a general strike in the 
coal fields was extremely unlikely. His regular coal 
supply was not interrupted, as a matter of fact ; he did 
not buy the coal, and an expensive experiment was 
avoided. Emergencies like these can seldom be fore- 
seen; you may be fortunate enough to avoid such a 
situation, but it is good insurance to have the resources 
of an organization such as the Fuel Engineering Com- 
pany at your command, especially as it goes along 
with a complete service which gives you protection from 
coal mine to delivered power. 

How Current Additions to the Records are Placed on 
Your Desk Each Month Through a Loose-Leaf 
System of Printed Monthly Reports. 

A large amount of coal data is furnished to each 
client regularly through a system of confidential re- 
ports, compiled in loose-leaf form. Toward the end 
of each month, all of the tests made for all of the plants 
participating in the co-operative plan are compiled and 
printed. Strict measures are taken to guard against a 
single copy of one of these reports getting into the hands 
of any person not participating in the plan, and these 
reports are furnished under the express agreement that 
they are to be used only by the recipient. The report 
gives for each test the name of the plant, the name of 
the dealer, the kind and trade name of the coal, and 

94 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

the test result. The price paid, or any other confi- 
dential information, of course, is not included in this 
report. Each report is punched for insertion in a 
loose-leaf cover furnished for the purpose, so that each 
client has in convenient form for reference a large 
amount of valuable data on the quality of various coals. 
Regarding these reports, a large lighting company 
wrote to another coal user : 

"The report furnished by the Fuel Engineer- 
ing Company each month on all the coal tested 
during that period is a very complete record. It 
covers all grades of coal, and is alone worth the 
yearly price charged for the service. We have 
several times referred to the report on certain 
grades of coal when a representative of that coal 
has stated that he would guarantee the B.T.U., 
etc. It showed up the facts so that the repre- 
sentative would not stand by his statement." 

Why Now Is the Time to Make the Big Savings by 
Scientific Methods in Coal Buying. 

It is an established law that the price of a product 
is controlled by the relation of demand to supply. This 
is, of course, also true of different grades of a product. 
At the present time only a very small proportion of 
the coal used is selected and purchased scientifically. 
There are thousands of kinds and grades of coal, but 
so little is known by coal buyers generally about coal 
values that the prevailing prices of the various coals in 
innumerable cases bear no relation to the real value. 
Now is the time to dig deeper into this subject, to 
get the real facts and take advantage of these discrep- 
ancies in value which are not seen by the guess-work 

95 



THE COST OF POWER 

buyer, whose rule of thumb methods are really making 
these opportunities. When scientific coal selection and 
purchase becomes universal, or nearly so, intelligent de- 
mand will adjust prices and bring them into their 
proper relationship. Then, thoroughly scientific meth- 
ods will be an absolute necessity, but chiefly as a means 
of protection, although there will still remain the op- 
portunity of seeking out certain general classes of 
coals for which there is a relatively small demand, and 
adjusting the plant to use this kind. The most suc- 
cessful trader in any market is the man who gets below 
the surface, and gets at the real -facts before they be- 
come public knowledge. 

Why Specifications are the Clincher of the Coal Pur- 
chase Problem. 
Buying coal on specifications, often called the 
B.T.U. basis, has been generally considered to be all 
that is necessary to put the selection and purchase of 
coal on a thoroughly scientific basis. It has been much 
discussed in print as the essence of fuel economy. You 
have already read of the possibilities of the proper 
use of coal records and coal tests. You have seen 
what they mean and how they work. What can a 
form of coal contract do to improve methods of coal 
selection and purchase based upon such accurate data 
and complete records? It will make certain that a 
stated quality and character of coal will be delivered 
throughout the life of the contract at a standard price; 
but if the seller delivers better or poorer coal than he 
has agreed he will be paid in proportion. Specifications 
therefore are not the foundation of scientific coal pur- 
chase, but the finishing touch — the clincher. 

96 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

How Specifications Secure Lower Prices for the Buyer. 

The other thing that specification buying does — 
that is buying under specifications that protect the 
seller as well as the purchaser, which is only fair — is 
almost invariably to obtain prices lower than under 
the so-much-a-ton method. This is a curious effect 
which many will claim to be without reason, although it 
has been found to be a fact in a large number of cases. 
The reason lies partly in the fact that properly drawn 
specifications will increase competition by placing coals 
of varying degrees of heat value on an equal basis, for 
all bids are reduced to a comparable basis — the amount 
of heat delivered for one cent. The other reason is 
more intangible, but perhaps no less real. The premium 
that is ordinarily put upon salesmanship, the effect of 
persuasion, is eliminated. The bidder under such speci- 
fications knows that the success of his bid depends en- 
tirely upon cold-blooded figures. Put a salesman of 
any product in a position where he cannot "talk his 
goods," and limit him to the bare statement of facts — 
just what he is ready to guarantee his goods are, and 
the price — then watch him sharpen his pencil, or with- 
draw from the field with what grace he can. If the 
latter, he is either too poor a business man to be able 
to put his product on a pure business basis, or he 
lacks confidence in the goods. The prospective pur- 
chaser has lost nothing by his withdrawal. He has 
gained the benefit of genuine competition and protec- 
tion — the knowledge that he will get, throughout the 
term of the contract, just what has been offered to him. 

97 



THE COST OF POWER 

Why Specifications Do Not Depend Upon Penalties 
or Price Reductions For Their Value. 

It should not be thought that penalties exacted for 
poor coal under any specifications are the full measure 
of the value of the method. Primarily the method is 
intended to supply an incentive to the dealer to main- 
tain the standard of quality, or improve upon it if 
possible. Providing a fair standard has been set, the 
purchaser will find greater economy if the coal earns 
a higher price than the standard, for the poorer the 
quality of the coal the poorer will be his operating 
results in proportion. But a fair standard is a neces- 
sity to the satisfactory use of specifications ; a standard 
too low will mean premiums paid for coal of only average 
quality. Much dissatisfaction on the part of the deal- 
ers has been caused by reckless bidding, offers which 
were unreasonably high, or by the insistence on the 
part of the purchaser of a standard which could not 
be reached. The failure of many amateur experiments 
with specifications is due to ignorance of the impor- 
tance of a correct standard. It is this very feature 
that makes a wide knowledge of coal values essential 
to a satisfactory use of specifications. 

What the United States Government Bureau of Mines 
Advises in Bulletin 41. 

"Under the old plan of purchasing coal, when the 
consumer had cause or thought he had cause to find 
fault with the quality of the fuel he received, he was 
assured that it must be good because, like all the other 
coal sent him, it came from a mine with an established 
reputation. Such a state of affairs made it difficult 

98 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

to take advantage of the competition which usually 
results from a considerable number of bidders being 
asked to submit prices. The purchaser was afraid to 
buy from any dealers but those he knew and trusted, 
because although each dealer claimed that his coal was 
equal in quality to that of the others, yet if it did not 
prove to be satisfactory there was no standard for set- 
tlement or for cancellation of the contract. 

"Many thousands of dollars worth of coal is still 
bought each year in this manner, yet a buyer or in- 
vestor would consider it absurd to make a contract for 
a building with no specification other than it should be 
of a certain size and well constructed. Neither would 
he buy gold, silver, or even copper or iron ores on the 
mere information that they were mined at certain lo- 
calities. All such products are now purchased to a 
great extent according to their value as shown by 
chemical analysis. This is true of coal in only a small 
degree, but the number of coal contracts made on such 
a basis is increasing every year. 

"A contract for purchase of coal under specifica- 
tions is as advantageous as a definite understanding 
regarding the quality and other features of any other 
product, or of a building operation or an engineering 
project. The man who buys under specifications gets 
what he pays for and pays for what he gets." 

Why Imperfect Specifications May Be More Costly 
Than None. 

The purpose of specifications for any product is 
primarily to protect the purchaser, but to be success- 
ful they must also protect the honest dealer. It is a 
nice question to protect the honest dealer against trick- 

99 



THE COST OF POWER 

ery or incompetence on the part of the consumer with- 
out leaving loop-holes by which a dishonorable dealer 
may escape the provisions intended to protect the con- 
sumer. There may be serious consequences either way 
for the buyer. If the dealer is not assured of a higher 
price for coal better than the standard agreed upon, 
he will surely make a bid high enough to offset possi- 
ble reductions, whether he expects them to occur or not. 
On the other hand if the settlement price is exactly in 
proportion to the fuel value of the coal he delivers, he 
can safely set a fair standard and a fair price, depend- 
ing upon the fluctuations above standard to offset those 
deliveries which fall below. There is sure to be a cer- 
tain amount of variation at best, and if his coal runs' 
consistently above standard he is sure of a correspond- 
ing reward. If the dealer is not protected against the 
rejection of shipments without adequate reason, he will 
insure himself against such a possibility by making a 
higher price, because the rejection of a shipment is 
often a very severe penalty. The consumer has an 
equal right to protection, and good business practice 
demands this protection, no matter how much confidence 
the buyer may have in the other contracting party. 
A contract between friends should be as binding as one 
between total strangers. It is not difficult for one 
inexperienced in the art of drawing coal specifications 
to eliminate unwittingly an important class of possible 
bidders, or even actually to put a premium on the de- 
livery of poor coal. 

How Coal Specifications Have Been Proven a Success. 

It is not easy to draw coal specifications. Proba- 
bly more discussion and argument has centered on coal 

100 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

specifications than on any other part of the complex 
problem of getting the most power out of every dollar 
spent for coal. Of all the phases of the coal problem 
the drawing of specifications is the most difficult to do 
right, the least understood, and the most experimented 
with by the inexperienced. In principle, coal specifi- 
cations are simple; in practice, the method is full of 
surprises for the unwary. Good specifications, once 
drawn, are easy to understand and simple of enforce- 
ment. Of a hundred different specifications, drawn by 
individuals connected with industrial plants, and re- 
cently examined, there was not one which did not either 
contain at least one vital flaw in the protection in- 
tended for the purchaser or were so unfair to the seller 
that strict enforcement was impossible. 

This is where Fuel Engineering Company service 
supplies another need of the coal purchaser, for the 
wide and varied experience of its staff with coals is 
combined with its many opportunities to watch closely 
the operation of a large number of specifications besides 
those drawn by its own organization. Here again the 
experience of many is focussed upon the problem of a 
single plant. The best evidence of the value of this 
particular service is the fact that not one concern has 
ever changed to another form after once purchasing 
under Fuel Engineering Company specifications. With- 
in a single year more than 500 bids have been made on 
these specifications. One client of the Fuel Engineer- 
ing Company has made a contract for his coal supply 
under these specifications for a period of ten years, with 
an option of continuing them in force for an additional 
five years. More than half a million dollars' worth 

101 



THE COST OF POWER 

of coal is bought each year by business concerns under 
the Fuel Engineering Company specifications and tests. 

How an Association Can Save Money For Its Mem- 
bers by the Collective Buying of Coal. 
The collective purchase of any material has cer- 
tain obvious advantages over individual effort, providing 
the material purchased can be standardized ; and many 
plans for co-operative buying have proven very suc- 
cessful, especially in Europe. The collective purchase 
of coal for manufacturers would seem to offer almost 
insuperable obstacles. There is likely to be among the 
members of an association of manufacturers a wide di- 
versity in the kind of coal needed for individual plants. 
A plant manager also naturally hesitates to delegate 
any of his authority in such an important matter, and 
he may fear that his individual needs will not get the 
attention they should. The problem therefore becomes 
one of studying the requirements of each plant sepa- 
rately, and fitting these diverse needs into a plan which 
will retain final authority for each manufacturer, and 
at the same time retain the full value of the collective 
method. It is also essential in such a plan that each 
member be absolutely protected and guaranteed in ad- 
vance a certain fuel value for his money. To the solution 
of such a problem must be brought an intimate knowl- 
edge of the coal market, a thorough understanding of 
plant requirements, and extensive experience in adapting 
specifications to complex situations. Adequate speci- 
fications under such a plan are not only desirable, but 
an absolute necessity. The staff of the Fuel Engineer- 
ing Company is peculiarly fitted for the development 
of such a plan. 

102 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

What One Prominent Manufacturers' Association Says 
About Collective Buying. 

Here is a letter from a client of the Fuel Engi- 
neering Company, one of the largest manufacturers 9 
associations in New England. 

"The first three months' operation of our 
plan for the collective purchase of coal for our 
members under strict heat unit specifications has 
so well demonstrated its advantage to our members 
that we are prompted at this time to write and 
express our thanks and appreciation to you for 
your valuable assistance and help in perfecting this 
plan. 

"We are certainly indebted to you for the 
large amount of time and effort, backed by your 
years of experience as fuel engineers, all of which 
you placed at the disposal of this Association dur- 
ing the months of our preparation for putting the 
plan into effect, and which has, we believe, resulted 
in the adoption of a plan offering exceptional op- 
portunity to our members for a saving in their 
coal bill, and at the same time a guarantee of the 
quality of the coal delivered. 

"We estimate that the actual saving to our 
members through the operation of the plan will 
amount to a very large figure, the price which the 
members are now paying being ten cents per ton 
lower than the prevailing market price, and in 
addition to this saving they are also protected 
with a strict guarantee of the heat value of the 
coal." 

103 



THE COST OF POWER 

How States and Cities Can Safeguard Coal Purchases. 

Sound business management requires the protec- 
tion of properly drawn specifications. State and munic- 
ipal buying introduces still further advantages in this 
method of buying coal; the best interest of the tax- 
payers requires impartial expert supervision of pur- 
chases. Properly drawn municipal specifications pre- 
vent not only the exercise of favoritism in the award 
of contracts, but even the suspicion of favoritism, for 
all bids are reduced to a definite and comparable basis 
of value and the determination of the lowest bidder 
becomes a mathematical calculation. Our governmental 
system brings frequent changes in the holders of impor- 
tant positions. Harmonious and continuous adminis- 
tration of such an important matter as coal buying is 
impossible unless some outside organization is engaged 
under conditions which make it free from political 
uncertainty. Furthermore, state and city officials are 
frequently lawyers, merchants or bankers in private life, 
and have not even the experience which the average 
manufacturer has acquired in coal buying. Coal test- 
ing done by State or city departments is open to a 
very obvious objection. It is common knowledge that 
such departments are notoriously open to political in- 
fluence, or the influence of selfish private interests. The 
Fuel Engineering Company has successfully supervised 
the coal purchasing of State, county and city depart- 
ments, and its extensive and valuable clientele among 
industrial concerns,rdependent as it is upon the mainte- 
nance of its professional reputation, stands as a con- 
tinuous guaranty of freedom from political or private 
influence. 

104 



BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 



PART VI 



How Coal Is Turned Into Power. 

Money, coal, steam, an engine, whirring machinery 
— your product. Before your check in payment of the 
coal bill has left your office every tangible thing that 
your money has bought has disappeared. You have 
purchased energy, and used part of it in changing the 
form of your raw materials into a salable product. 
Part of it has been wasted. You can see the coal 
shovelled under your boilers; you can see the shafts, 
pulleys, wheels moving in the factory. Energy has been 
liberated in the furnace to go where it can. It is in- 
visible, intangible. You have paid good money for the 
energy. Some of it is sure to escape unused. Most 
of it you can use. Science has provided us with means 
of accurately determining just where this energy goes, 
methods of keeping track of it all the time. Do you 
realize that a plant using 5,000 tons of coal at $3 
per ton can lose $7,500 dollars after the coal has been 
fired and before the energy reaches the engines? Do 
you realize that half of this may be: unnecessary loss? 
And once lost, gone forever ! 

How Power Losses Can Be Prevented. 

There is no reclaiming of power losses. They are 
most elusive and exist on every hand, but they can be 

105 



THE COST OF POWER 

prevented. A certain amount of energy has been put 
into the plant in the form of coal. It is comparatively 
simple to measure the amount of energy which is deliv- 
ered to your machinery, but this does not tell you how 
much has been lost or where the losses are. You must 
know how much energy you started with. Therefore, 
we must start with the heat value of the coal, and the 
weight of the coal used. Let us assume that your 
coal has been carefully selected, and is purchased on 
the B.T.U. basis; that it will give you the largest 
amount of energy in the form most suitable for your 
use for the money; that, in this particular case, you 
will get 14,000 B.T.U. per pound, or 31,360,000 B.T.U. 
per ton for $3; and that you use 5,000 tons a year. 
Let us see what may become of this $15,000 worth of 
energy — how much may be lost — how much can be 
saved. 

How the Savings Disclosed by the Power Plant Bal- 
ance Sheet Mount Into Money. 

Every business concern keeps an exact record of 
all money received. The books show exactly how much 
has been received, the date, and whence it came. This 
money is in turn paid to others. A record is kept of 
just where this money goes, and for what it was paid. 
A part is paid in salaries, a part in materials, and in 
all lines of business some is lost. The income and outgo 
must always balance, and the general manager demands 
a statement in detail showing how the outgo was divided. 

What business man could hope to reduce costs if 
he only knew the total amount of money spent? Fur- 

106 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

thermore, how much real money does the business execu- 
tive of to-day actually see? The morning's mail brings 
certain pieces of paper which indicate that somewhere 
in the channels of trade there are a certain number of 
dollars which have been transferred to him. He has 
faith that the money is there, although it is not visible. 
He in turn pays it out by means of similar pieces of 
paper. The laws of nature prescribe that every bit 
of energy you put into your furnace must come out 
somewhere, even though you cannot see this energy. 



^asum 





f</CL /5w«/A«fW/ve Co or/V.X <S</cr /S/4. 



This chart illustrates graphically the results indicated by the 
Energy Account on following page. The black areas indicate the 
unnecessary losses which were eliminated, while the amount of 
power produced remained the same. 



107 



THE COST OF POWER 

How an Energy Account Looks in Actual Figures, 

Science has made it possible to measure this energy 
that you put in, and also to keep account of just 
where it goes and in what quantities. The "Energy 
Account" must balance just as much as your "Cash 
Account." You trade good money (which is carefully 
and painstakingly accounted for) for energy in the 
shape of coal. Doesn't just ordinary good business 
practice demand that every bit of this energy should 
also be accounted for? Let us see what the "Energy 
Account" — the power plant balance sheet — looks like: 

To 5,000 tons of coal, averaging 14,000 B.T.U. per 

pound, @ $3.00 per ton $15,000 

Lost up the stack in dry flue gases $5,430 

Lost by incomplete combustion None 

Lost through grates 870 

Loss from moisture in coal 375 

Loss from hydrogen in coal burning to water . . 315 

Loss from radiation and minor losses 570 

$7,560 
Turned into steam 7,440 

Total $15,000 $15,000 

How This Same Energy Account Was Made to Save 
Money. 

A statement like this is not only a satisfaction, 
but it points the way to a reduction of the losses. The 
business executive need not necessarily know the treat- 
ment indicated by these figures, but he can readily see 
the significance of the facts when he has faith that 

108 




Library of Records — Part of the secondary records which are subdivisions of original 
records by dealers, mines, districts, trade names, etc., in the Fuel Engineering Company 
Library. (See page 85.) 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

this energy account is as real as the cash account. 
Conditions were improved in this plant, and the balance 
sheet now looks like this: 

To 3,566 tons of coal, averaging 14,000 B.T.U. per 

pound, @ $3.00 a ton $10,700 

Lost up the stack in dry flue gases $1,720 

Lost by incomplete combustion 162 

Lost through grates 481 

Loss from moisture in coal 267 

Loss from hydrogen in coal burning to water . . 224 

Loss from radiation and minor losses 406 

$3,260 
Turned into steam 7,440 

Total $10,700 $10,700 

It shows the same amount of power developed with 
$4<,300 less spent for coal of the same quality at the 
same price. 

How Every Power Problem Is Different. 

The "Energy Account" of no two plants will look 
alike. The design of the plant, the demands put upon 
it, its location, the method of operation, the kind of 
coal — each of these has an effect upon the size of the 
total loss, as well as upon the distribution of the losses 
and the method of reducing them. Another plant 
with insufficient stack capacity had a power balance 
sheet like the following. The figures are converted to 
our adopted average plant for sake of easy comparison, 
and the figures before and after the faulty condition 
has been remedied are given in parallel columns: 

111 



THE 



COST 



O F 



POWER 



■ 



To 5000 tons of coal, averaging 14,000 

B.T.U. per pound, @ $3 a ton 

To 3,980 tons of coal, etc., @ $3 a ton 

Lost up the stack in dry flue gases . $1,455 

Lost by incomplete combustion . . 2,295 

Lost through grates 480 

Loss from moisture in coal .... 315 

Loss from hydrogen in coal . . . 345 

Loss from radiation and minor losses 1,860 



Before 



$15,000 



After 

. $11,950 



Turned into steam 



6,750 
8,250 



$1,192 
251 
394 
251 
274 
1,338 

3,700 
8,250 



Total $15,000 $15,000 $11,950 $11,950 

This shows the same amount of power, but more 
than $3,000 saved in the operating account. 

Why the Energy Account Should Show the Losses For 
365 Days of the Year. 

A large number of plants run tests to determine 
the evaporation per pound of coal, but fail to determine 
the amount of heat originally supplied to the furnace 
and thus cannot determine the losses. The real question 
to be answered is not "How much water is being evap- 
orated per pound of coal?" but "How much of the en- 
ergy that we have bought is wasted?" 

Many plants run occasional tests to give some 
indication of the amount of loss or the distribution of 
the losses. Such tests, however, only show what the 
losses were on one day under test conditions. The 
losses that eat up the coal bill are going on every day 
of the year. They may be changing in direction. An 
attempt to reduce one loss, indicated by a test, may 
have increased one of the others still more. This loss 
goes on until another test is run, and in the meantime 



112 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

more energy is lost than before. Fuel Engineering 
Company Power Service checks up all the losses all 
the time, and reports to you the condition of the En- 
ergy Account at frequent intervals. 

How to Open the Energy Account. 

To open the energy account — to put the plant 
manager in a position to know just where the energy 
that he buys is going — does not require costly changes 
in equipment or radical changes in operating condi- 
tions. It simply means getting accustomed to apply- 
ing the same careful methods in the making of power 
as are used in the manufacturing department or the 
treasurer's office. Until the plant has been equipped 
so that the direction and amount of the losses can be 
determined and a continuous record maintained, at- 
tempts at power economy are little better than guess- 
work. Lucky guessing, or any other method that re- 
duces the cost of power, is valuable ; but if it does not 
indicate how near you are to the goal of maximum 
economy, it fails in its real purpose ; for it is not what 
you have done, but what you can do, that counts. 
Here the power engineer has an advantage over the 
efficiency engineer, for his 100 per cent, is known and 
every part of it can be definitely determined, while 
the latter may increase the efficiency of the workmen 
40 per cent, without knowing how near he is getting 
to the possible maximum — or, in other words, how much 
farther he could go if he knew how. The purpose of 
Fuel Engineering Company Power Service is to guide 
you in the introduction of an Energy Account, to keep 
the account for you, to analyze the results, and to use 
the facts disclosed to reduce the losses and to keep 
them down. 

113 



THE COST OF POWER 

How the Services of the Operating Engineer Become 
More Valuable. 
Scientific methods applied to power production do 
not diminish the importance of the operating engineer. 
His duties are many and important. In fact, they are 
so many and so important that he cannot be expected 
to take up the particular problem with the thorough- 
ness it deserves and must have for complete success. 
A quotation from an article by an engineer, who has 
had wide experience both as an operating engineer and 
as a consultant, is worth repeating here: 

"In order to obtain the best results, it is nec- 
essary for all parties concerned to recognize their 
own and the other fellow's limitations and organize 
a working unit. On the one hand, the supervising 
engineer must admit that the operating engineer 
knows his plant in detail more intimately than 
others can. He knows the individuality of his 
machine better and can best tell the results of ap- 
plication of oils, packing, etc., and knows many 
things one cannot learn in any other way than 
to be with them continually. The operating en- 
gineer must feel that the consulting engineer can 
bring a training due to association with business 
men that is denied the man in the engine room, and 
can bring to bear a wide range of knowledge of 
general practice. The consulting engineer is called 
upon to consider problems so varied that each one 
is a special study and cannot help but give him 
a general knowledge at least of more phases of 
engineering than can be gained in the engine room 
alone. For one to disregard the knowledge of the 
other is foolish. For each to recognize that the 

114 



A EIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

other can bring special knowledge into a working 
combination for the common employer means good 
for all." — Outside Supervision in the Plant, by 
Hubert E. Collins, "Practical Engineer," January 
1, 1914. 

How the Coal Service Assists the Plant Manager. 

Fuel Engineering Company Coal Service is com- 
plete in its application to your power problem up to 
the delivery of the coal. It acts as a searchlight to 
penetrate the depths of the coal market, a market be- 
wildering in its greatness and in the wide field of choice 
it offers. It acts as a guide in making the best choice, 
and as a protector in making sure that you get all the 
time all you are paying for. The Fuel Engineering 
Company of New York does not buy or sell coal, or 
any other material or product. The Coal Service is 
therefore a tool for you to use. Its value will depend 
largely upon your desire to use it. 

How the Power Service Protects and Assists You at 
Every Step From Mine to Delivered Power. 

The Power Service includes all of the features of 
the Coal Service; it goes farther and covers the dis- 
tinct problem of getting the most out of the coal after 
it has been bought, thus covering each step from the 
time you think of next year's coal supply until the 
steam has been delivered to your engines. This service 
determines the amount and direction of your present 
losses, takes the full responsibility for the reduction 
of them, and maintains a complete and continuous rec- 
ord of operating results, which are reported to you 

115 



THE COST OF POWER 

at frequent intervals. The engineers in charge of the 
Power Service not only have the full information in 
regard to the quality of your coal, which is essential 
to a complete knowledge of your power losses, but have 
access to the great mass of coal records in the coal 
library already described. This is a unique feature of 
this Power Service which should not be overlooked. Its 
importance lies in the value of carrying the problem 
through from start to finish under the direction of a 
single organization, insuring harmony of plan, and 
avoiding a duplication of effort which a division of the 
problem would cause. 

Why the Cost of Power Is a Big Business Problem. 

Economy in purchase, efficiency in use — these are 
two parts of one vital business problem, the reduction 
of the cost of power. To buy coal haphazard, to 
judge of it with incomplete data, to select it without 
a thorough survey of the field, to accept any business 
situation as being impossible of improvement — truly, 
these have no place in the creed of the American busi- 
ness executive; they mean the deliberate neglect of an 
opportunity to increase profits by the most direct and 
certain road — the decrease of costs. That such methods 
have been the rule in the past is not to the discredit 
of any coal buyer, because this condition was not due 
to a lack of desire to improve, but to the absence of 
opportunity to get the facts upon which better methods 
could be built. 

For years there has been building a central bureau 
of information for the coal buyer, and an organization 
equipped and trained to supply complete, exact and 
detailed information on the selection and purchase of 

116 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

coal — the foundation of all power economy. To have 
accomplished the greatest economy in purchase, to have 
placed in your coal bunkers the largest amount of heat 
in the form most economical for your use at the least 
cost, is a distinct step forward. This much of the 
power problem may be considered as a complete unit 
in itself. 

After the ooal has. been delivered, the work of re- 
ducing the losses and of keeping them down is abso- 
lutely necessary to a complete solution of this vital 
business problem, but for its success it must depend 
upon the facts developed in the solution of the first 
division. The service of the Fuel Engineering Com- 
pany therefore is divided into two parts, each a com- 
plete unit, the one related to the other as a house is to 
its foundation. The Coal Service may be used alone, 
or the Power Service may be added to it, thus making 
the protection of your interests complete from mine to 
delivered power. 

Why You Need the Coal Service. 

First: Because it gives you systematic tests of your 

coal which 
make it possible to compare accurately its value 

with the value of other available coals; 

give you, at frequent intervals, definite informa- 

tion as to whether you are getting the quality 
of coal that you have been promised ; 

are an absolute necessity to complete operating 

records if you would know how efficiently the 
coal you buy is being used. 
Second: Because it places at your command a library 
of coal information which 

117 



THE COST OF POWER 



supplies a basis of comparison with your present 
practice ; 

guides you in the selection of coals of higher qual- 
ity or lower price; 

enables you to find these coals with a minimum 
of effort or expense; 

gives you accurate data, in advance, on coals you 
may consider buying and thus avoids costly 
experiment. 



Third: Because it adds to your staff an organization 
of experts, devoting its whole time to coal and 
power problems, which 

is ready at all times to give you the benefit of 

experience gained in supervising the purchase 
of more than 15,000,000 tons of coal for 
plants in more than fifty different lines of in- 
dustry and operating under all kinds of con- 
ditions ; 

relieves you of all technical details by supplying 

to you, as a basis for your decisions, concrete 
recommendations based upon the tests of your 
coal and our library of coal records; 

studies your plant conditions, and determines the 

kind of coal best adapted to the economical 
production of your power ; 

assumes all the detail work in preparing specifi- 

cations for the purchase of your coal, exam- 
ines all bids received, and prepares an accu- 
rate comparison of the bids to guide you in 
awarding the contract; 

stands constantly at your service to look up and 

report any kind of coal information you may 
desire ; 

118 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

makes suggestions and recommendations on firing 

methods and operating problems, which can be 
made without extensive investigation or in- 
spection of the plant. 

Fourth: Because it gives you all of these things quickly, 
and 

— — at a nominal cost — from three-fourths of one per 
cent, to two per cent, of your coal bill. The 
total cost to you is fixed in advance. There 
are no fees of indefinite amount. 

Why You Need the Power Service. 

First: Because it gives you systematic supervision of 
your power generation; 

finds out what your plant is doing; 

determines not only the amount of the losses, but 

where they occur; 

stops preventable wastes; 

gives you complete operating records. 

Second: Because it places on your desk at frequent 

intervals reports which show: 

the exact cost of your power; 

what your plant has been doing; 

what it is now doing; 

what it is going to do. 

Third: Because it adds to your staff an organization 
of experts devoting its whole time to coal and 
power problems; which 

gives you, at all times, the benefit of experience 

gained in supervising the power output of 
many plants ; 

makes concrete recommendations based on tests at 

your plant and extensive supervision records ; 
thus relieving you of all technical details; 

119 



THE COST OF POWER 



studies your plant conditions and welds your 
plant, coal and men into a harmonious unit 
devoted to the economical production of 
power; 

assumes all detail work in keeping of records, 
installing of instruments and planning im- 
provements ; 

relieves you of the necessity of spending your time 
on a lot of technical details which are foreign 
to your ordinary trend of thought, and so 
gives you additional time and energy to devote 
to the sales-product end of your business. 



Fourth: Because it gives you these things quickly (the 
engineering staff is ready and doesn't have to 
be built up) ; 

the cost is small and in every case it is deter- 

mined in advance; 

furthermore, the expenditure usually pays large 

dividends the first year. 

The Problem and Its Solution. 

We have stated the problem and pointed out the 
solution. We have shown how hundreds of manufac- 
turers and other makers of power and users of coal have 
solved each part of their problems. We have shown 
how you may profitably leave the application of the 
principles, here presented, to specialists who are 
equipped to gather the facts and able to focus the com- 
posite experience of many others upon your individual 
needs. With confidence in your good business judgment, 
we leave you with this question : 

ARE YOU BURNING UP YOUR PROFITS? 

120 



BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 



REFERENCE INDEX 

A Page 

Anthracite, amount of volatile in 47 

heat value of 48 

moisture in 39 

sizes of 50, 51 

sizes, commercial importance of 52 

steam sizes compared with semi-bituminous in terms of 

money 78 

Ash, definition of 23 

only accurate means of measuring 23 

amount of, affected by mining- methods 25 

as an index of quality 26 

fusing point of 57 

percentage in fourteen consecutive deliveries .... 32 

percentages in No. 1 Buckwheat by months .... 27 

B 

Bituminous, amount of volatile in 47 

heat value of 48 

use of the term, in coal trade 47 

B.T.U., definition of 24 

dry 24 

as received 24 

commercial 25 

B.T.U., net for lc, definition of 69 

B.T.U., difference of, in coals with same ash percentage . 41, 42 

difficulty of determining accurately 43 

in different classes of coals compared 47 

basis, see Specifications 

buying 26 

Brass Foundry 18 

Buckwheat, No. 1, ash percentages in fourteen deliveries . . 32 

table of ash percentages in 27 

differences in money value of 70, 71 

size of 52 

Buckwheat, No. 2, compared with No. 3 Buck and semi-bitu- 
minous in terms of money 75 

size of 52 

Buckwheat, No. 3, compared with No. 2 Buck and semi-bitu- 
minous in terms of money 75 

size of 52 

Bureau of commercial coal information 83 

Business questions which must be answered 14 

C 

Calorimeter, necessity of 41, 42, 49 

reliability of 44 

Capacity often confounded with Efficiency and Economy . . 79 

Carbon, Fixed, definition of 24 

Cement Mill 18 

Chemical Analysis 22 

Clinkering, how to avoid 57 

Coal, Adaptability of, to plant 18 

Anthracite, heat value of 41 

Bituminous, heat value of 41 

121 



THE COST OF POWE 



* 



Page 

character of 16 

character of, indexed by dealers 17 

exact amount of, used 18 

exact value of 21 

heat from a given volume of 18 

kjnd and quality, difference between 25 

largest single element in cost of power 14 

loss in use of 105 

higher quality of, obtained by specifications .... 98 

preparation of, care observed in 15 

quality of 16 

quality and kind, difference between 25 

quality of each kind of, indexed 18 

quality of, responsibility for 30 

selection of 16, 17, 18 

selection of, on impartial data 28 

semi-bituminous, value of 41 

special uses of 18 

turned into power 105 

value of each lot of 16 

variations in character of 15 

Coals, b.ituminous, importance of ash, sulphur and volatile in 

selection of 29 

classification of, by volatile 47 

semi-bituminous, ash percentages in fourteen deliveries 32 

semi-bituminous, comparison of fifteen 29 

semi-bituminous, importance of ash, sulphur and volatile 

in selection of 29 

record of 86 

Coal bill, higher, due to several causes 18 

costs 18 

data, exact, need of 17 

dealers, attitude toward customers 17 

dealers, indexed by character of coal 17 

dealers, record of 85 

dealers, reliability of 17 

dealers, selection of, on impartial data 28 

information, how to secure 85 

market, thorough knowledge of, necessary 21 

purchase 16, 17, 18 

purchase, advantages of specifications for States, Cities, 

etc 104 

purchase by associations 102, 103 

purchase, economy in scientific 115, 116, 117 

purchase, scientific, advantages of, at present time 95, 96, 97 
purchase, U. S. Bureau of Mines on ...... 98, 99 

records, current additions to 94 

records, how collected and classified 84, 85, 86 

records, the use of 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 93 

records, value of, in emergency 90, 93 

records, see also Bureau of Coal Information. 

seam, character of 15, 31 

specifications, see Specifications. 

test, financial significance of . 68 

test, use of, in determining efficiency 79 

test, its value to operating engineer 78 

test of commercial use 22 

test, terms used in 22 

tests, basis for comparison of 16 

tests, how often should, be made 58 

tests, insuring accuracy of 64 



122 



A BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 

Page 

tests made a vital business force 82 

tests, systematic, the value of 57 

testing plant 17, 63 

testing-, only the first step 16 

testing, laboratories in manufacturing- plants not adapted 

to 65 

testing, value of prompt reports on 66 

Collective purchase of coal 102, 103 

Collins, Hubert E., quotation from 114 

Competition increased by specifications 97 

Co-operation among coal users 83 

Cost of power, coal the largest single element in 14 

Aoig business problem 116 

see also under Power. 

Costs, manufacturing 17 

D 

Dealers, coal. See under Coal Dealers. 

E 

Economy in coal purchase 115, 116, 117 

in power production 115, 116, 117 

often confounded with Efficiency and Capacity ... 79 

Economy, Power, how to secure 113 

Efficiency, necessity of coal test in determining 79 

Efficiency often confounded with Economy and Capacity . . 79 

Energy Account compared with financial account 106 

illustrated 108, 111, 112 

Engineer,. Operating, becomes more valuable 114 

Engineering' Magazine, quotation from 80 

Evaporation, not an index of efficiency 79, 80 

Experiment, costly, avoided 28 

F 

Factory system, foundation of 14 

Financial significance of coal test 68 

Firing methods 15, 23 

wasteful 18 

Fixed Carbon, definition of 24 

Fusing point of ash 57 

G 

Gas Producing plants 18 

Guess-work methods 16 

H 

Heat. See under B.T.U. 

Heat Value of volatile matter 49 

See also under B.T.U. 

Horse-power, boiler 24 

Human element in mining coal 30, 32 



Iron Foundry 18 

123 



THE COST OF POWER 



L Page 

Laboratories in manufacturing plants not adapted to coal test- 
ing 65 

Location of plant as it affects selection of coal . . . . 75, 77 
Loss in use of coal 105 

M 

Manufacturing costs 17 

Mining methods, human element in 30, 32 

Moisture, added in transit 35 

amount of, in coal as delivered 39 

changes with the seasons 39 

excess, loss to purchaser of coal 35 

importance of, in operating records 41 

in coal when mined 35 

definition of 23 

Money, Value of coal computed in terms of 69, 72 

Municipal coal purchase, advantages of specifications for . . 104 

Myers, J)avid Moffat, quotation from 80 

O 

Operating engineer becomes more valuable 114 

Operating results, continuous record of 21 

Operating tests, occasional 112 

P 

Pea Coal, size of 52 

[Power, cost of 16, 21 

largest single element in 14 

Power costs 18 

data, exact 17 

economical production of 17 

economy 115, 116, 117 

economy, how to secure 113 

from coal 105 

losses, prevention of . . . * 105 

losses reduced by power records 106, 108, 111, 112 

records for business men 106 

waste in production of, elimination of 21 

Prices, Specifications secure lower 97 

Protection of specifications 97 

"Practical Engineer," quotation from 114 

Pottery Manufacturer 18 

Profits, Burning up of 16 

Purchase of coal, see under Coal Purchase. 

Q 

Quality of coal, see under Coal Quality. 



Records, see under Coal and Power. 

Refuse, furnace, a source of loss 23 

distinguished from ash 23 

Run-of-mine 51 

124 



BIG BUSINESS PROBLEM 



S Page 

Sampling, of coal 58, 59 

methods . 60 

accuracy of, proven 61, 62, 63 

Screened Lump . • . 51 

Selection of coal, see under Coal Selection. 

Semi-Anthracite, amount of volatile in 47 

Semi-Bituminous, amount of volatile in 47 

compared with anthracite in terms of money ... 78 
compared with No. 2 and No. 3 Buck in terms of money 75 

differences in money value of 72 

heat value of 48 

Sizes of anthracite, commercial importance of 52 

Slack e 51 

Smelter 18 

Specifications, advantages of, for States, Cities, etc. ... 104 

collective purchase of coal under 102, 103 

difficulty of protecting both sides 100 

fair standard in, is necessary 98 

increase competition 97 

obtain better coal 98 

one purpose of 72 

only the finishing touch 96 

protection of 97 

reasons for dissatisfaction with 98 

secure lower prices 97 

success of 100, 101, 103 

U. S. Bureau of Mines on 98, 99 

Steam Factory 14 

Steam sizes of anthracite 51, 52 

compared with semi-bituminous in terms of money . . 78 

Sulphur, description of 24, 53 

amount of, affected by mining methods 25 

in semi-bituminous coals from fifteen mines .... 29 
its relation to clinkering 53, 54 

T 

Terra Cotta Manufacturer 18 

Testing, see under Coal lasting. 

U 

Ultimate analysis of coal 22 

U. S. Bureau q£ Mines, quotations from 34, 98 

V 

Value of coal in terms of money, how computed 69 

No. 2 Buck, No. 3 Buck and semi-bituminous compared 

in terms of money 75 

Volatile, definition of 23 

amount of, in coal 25, 47 

as an indication of character of coal 26, 46 

composition of 24, 25 

heat value of 49 

importance of, in selecting coal 29, 50 

W 
Water, amount of, evaporated 18, 79, 80 

125 



